Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Diop, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod, and defenseman Cal Foote — four members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Hockey Team — have been charged with sexual assault in connection with a 2018 incident in London. Each player's lawyers confirmed The athlete.
Each lawyer issued separate statements on Tuesday.
“We can now confirm that more than five and a half years after EM’s initial complaint to police, London Police have charged Mike McLeod with sexual assault,” the emailed statement by David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein said.
The statement indicated that McLeod denies any criminal wrongdoing and “will plead not guilty and vigorously defend the case.”
The statement added: “None of the evidence has been presented, let alone tested in court. We ask the public to respect Mr. McLeod's privacy and that of his family. “Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time.”
Later on Tuesday, a lawyer representing Dube issued a similar statement.
“The London Police Service has charged Mr Dube with sexual assault. Louis Strizos' statement said he would plead not guilty and maintain his innocence. “He will defend these charges in court. We ask that you respect Mr. Dube’s privacy and that of his family.
A statement on behalf of Hart – attributed to his lawyers Megan Savard and Riad Salani – read: “We are acting for Carter Hart and confirm that he has been charged with one count of sexual assault. He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the appropriate forum, i.e. court. Until then we have no comment.”
“Cal is innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name,” Juliana Greenspan, who represents Foote, said Tuesday night in a statement. What is most important at this time is the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial that anyone in Canada is entitled to. Since the matter is before the court, I ask that the privacy of Cal and his family be respected. There will be no further comment at this time.”
McLeod, Dube, Hart and Foote are the second, third, fourth and fifth players publicly identified in the case after Alex Formenton's lawyer confirmed the former Ottawa Senators player was charged by London police on Sunday. Five members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Hockey Team were asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges last week, the Globe and Mail reported.
London police said on Sunday The athlete They will “provide all updates” regarding the case at a press conference scheduled for February 5.
The pending charges relate to an alleged sexual assault of a woman by several players in a London hotel room on June 19, 2018, after a Canadian Hockey Foundation event, the Globe and Mail reported.
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The allegations were made public in a lawsuit the woman filed against Hockey Canada in April 2022. In the complaint filed with the Ontario Superior Court, the woman alleged she was assaulted by eight players in a hotel room after a foundation event. Members of Canada's 2018 world junior team were among those accused of assault in the lawsuit.
Hockey Canada and the woman settled the lawsuit in May 2022.
After the lawsuit was announced, London Police and Hockey Canada reopened their investigations into the incident, and the NHL launched an investigation as well. The initial investigation by London police was closed in February 2019, without charges being brought.
When reached for comment, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league would not be issuing a statement “at this time.” The NHLPA also declined to comment.
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Hart, 25, has appeared in 26 games for the Flyers this season. On January 24, Hart requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the Flyers for personal reasons.
Dobby (25 years old) appeared in 43 matches with the Flames this season. On January 21, the Flames released a statement that read: “Dillon Dube has been placed on indefinite leave from the team while he attends to his mental health. Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we ask that Dillon's privacy be respected during this time.”
The Flames on Tuesday issued another statement saying they “have now become aware” of the allegations against Doby and that the organization “had no knowledge of the pending charges at the time Dillon's request for leave was approved.”
McLeod (25 years old) appeared in 45 games with the Devils this season. Foote, also 25, is splitting his time between the New Jersey Devils and their AHL farm team in Utica this season. He played 24 games with Utica and four with New Jersey. Last week, the Devils issued a statement in which both McLeod and Foote requested and were granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The Devils declined to comment further on that The athlete Tuesday night.
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