Thursday, February 19, 2026
ADVT 
National

Defence lawyers continue submissions at hockey players' sex assault trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Jun, 2025 11:30 AM
  • Defence lawyers continue submissions at hockey players' sex assault trial

Defence lawyers for five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team are continuing to hammer at the credibility of the complainant as they make final submissions at the players' sexual assault trial.

A lawyer representing Alex Formenton is arguing that video evidence from the bar where the woman first encountered several of the players contradicts her testimony that she was plied with alcohol and separated from her friends, and that she was extremely intoxicated.

Daniel Brown has repeatedly argued the woman lied or embellished in her testimony, and that her account of what happened evolved over time.

Court heard submissions Monday from lawyers representing Michael McLeod and Carter Hart. 

McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey, argued the complainant has presented an "entirely unbelievable and unreliable" version of the events at the heart of the trial.

McLeod, Hart, Formenton and their former teammates Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault

McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.

The charges relate to an encounter with a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in June 2018, at a time when many of the team's members were in town for events celebrating their championship win.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

MORE National ARTICLES

3 suspects arrested after stealing money from a gas station and fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle

3 suspects arrested after stealing money from a gas station and fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle
Officers responded to a call right after 8:30 p.m. on December 16th at Carmel Drive where two people came into a gas station, asking for money and cigarettes, and fled the scene in a truck which they stole from Fort St. James. 

3 suspects arrested after stealing money from a gas station and fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle

Body discovered in Shawnigan Lake

Body discovered in Shawnigan Lake
Mounties say a body has been discovered in a forested area in Shawnigan Lake. Police say the B-C Coroners Services is also looking into this case. 

Body discovered in Shawnigan Lake

Vancouver Island city looks to attract family doctors with municipal job offers

Vancouver Island city looks to attract family doctors with municipal job offers
Colwood Mayor Ken Kobayashi says in a statement that it has initiated a first-in-Canada pilot project where it recruits family doctors and puts them on the city payroll, offering full medical benefits, vacation and a pension.

Vancouver Island city looks to attract family doctors with municipal job offers

Letters to Santa will be delivered but he 'won't have time' to respond: Canada Post

Letters to Santa will be delivered but he 'won't have time' to respond: Canada Post
Canada Post says letters destined for the North Pole will arrive by Christmas Eve as its operations resume, but Santa Claus "won't have time to respond" this year. The Santa letters program is back on after a month-long strike of more than 55,000 postal workers, and Canada Post says the mailed wish lists will be handled with "special care." 

Letters to Santa will be delivered but he 'won't have time' to respond: Canada Post

Crash involving impaired driver in Richmond

Crash involving impaired driver in Richmond
Mounties in Richmond are looking for witnesses or dashcam footage of a crash involving an alleged impaired driver. They say it happened last Thursday just after 8 p.m. on Sea Island Way at Great Canadian Way.

Crash involving impaired driver in Richmond

Metro Vancouver says population growth is accelerating and will hit 4 million by 2045

Metro Vancouver says population growth is accelerating and will hit 4 million by 2045
Metro Vancouver's projected population growth is accelerating, with an average of 50,000 new residents expected per year. That's 40 per cent higher than the previous projection under a "medium growth scenario," and Metro Vancouver now says it expects the regional district's population to hit four million by 2045, nine years earlier than before.

Metro Vancouver says population growth is accelerating and will hit 4 million by 2045