LONDON, Ont. – A mistrial has been declared in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case, two days after the Crown attorney made opening statements and three days after a 14-person jury was selected in Ontario Superior Court.
Those 14 jurors — 11 women and three men — were sent home Friday following the ruling by Justice Maria Carroccia, who has presided over the trial that began Tuesday.
Carroccia adjourned court early Wednesday, telling jurors: “Something happened over the lunch hour that I need to think about and to discuss with the lawyers.” She then instructed the jurors not to discuss the matter further.
A publication ban imposed by the court prevents the media from disclosing what prompted the mistrial and anything discussed in the courtroom that was not revealed to the jury. A jury of 14 people, nine women and five men, was selected Friday afternoon. The trial that jury will hear will begin on Monday.
The highly anticipated trial features former NHL players Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all of whom are facing sexual assault charges stemming from a June 2018 incident in which a 20-year-old woman said she was sexually assaulted for several hours in a London hotel room. The players, who pleaded not guilty when arraigned Tuesday, were in town that weekend to attend a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their 2018 World Junior Championship.
In opening statements on Wednesday, Crown attorney Heather Donkers outlined the prosecution’s case, advising jurors that the outcome would hinge on the issue of consent and to discard any preconceived notions about sexual assault.
Donkers, in describing what the jurors should expect to hear from the complainant and in evidence throughout a trial that was slated to last eight weeks, said the defendants “had sexual contact with the complainant without her voluntary agreement to the specific acts that took place.”
(Photo by Peter Power / AFP via Getty Images)
