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

'Human error' caused spill of up to 8,000 litres of fuel off B.C.'s coast: government

'Human error' caused spill of up to 8,000 litres of fuel off B.C.'s coast: government
Human error during a fuel transfer at a fish farm off the west coast of British Columbia has resulted in a spill into the water of up to 8,000 litres of diesel. The B.C. government said in a report on its website that the spill happened Saturday at the Grieg Seafood fish farm near Zeballos, on the northwest side of Vancouver Island. 

'Human error' caused spill of up to 8,000 litres of fuel off B.C.'s coast: government

Family, friends, leaders gather at memorial for former B.C. premier John Horgan

Family, friends, leaders gather at memorial for former B.C. premier John Horgan
Up to three thousand people gathered at the Q Centre in the suburban Victoria community of Colwood for a memorial service for the former New Democrat premier and Canada's ambassador to Germany who died last month at age 65 following his third bout with cancer.

Family, friends, leaders gather at memorial for former B.C. premier John Horgan

Trudeau taps LeBlanc as finance minister after Freeland resigns: source

Trudeau taps LeBlanc as finance minister after Freeland resigns: source
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be sworn in as finance minister this afternoon, a senior government official has confirmed. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the appointment, says LeBlanc will be sworn in as finance minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall at 4 p.m. and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be present.

Trudeau taps LeBlanc as finance minister after Freeland resigns: source

16-year-old girl in critical condition after North Vancouver pedestrian crash

16-year-old girl in critical condition after North Vancouver pedestrian crash
Mounties in North Vancouver say a 16-year-old girl is in critical condition after she was hit by a Jeep. RCMP says the collision happened around 5:30 on Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Capilano and Paisley roads. 

16-year-old girl in critical condition after North Vancouver pedestrian crash

Ottawa police use DNA from 1996 murder to identify Vancouver stabbing suspect

Ottawa police use DNA from 1996 murder to identify Vancouver stabbing suspect
Ottawa police say 73-year-old Lawrence Diehl was taken into custody by Vancouver police on Dec. 10 and returned to Ottawa, and he's accused of second-degree murder in the death of Christopher Smith on April 12, 1996. 

Ottawa police use DNA from 1996 murder to identify Vancouver stabbing suspect

Historic plane's final trip to U.S. interrupted by emergency landing near Victoria

Historic plane's final trip to U.S. interrupted by emergency landing near Victoria
The Victoria Airport Authority confirmed the Philippine Mars, one of two remaining aircraft of its kind, had to land at the airport's water aerodrome at Patricia Bay on Sunday due to mechanical problems. 

Historic plane's final trip to U.S. interrupted by emergency landing near Victoria