Overview

• On July 24, Ontario Superior Court Judge Maria Carroccia acquitted Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of all sexual assault charges.
• Carroccia concluded the complainant’s testimony was not credible nor reliable and that prosecutors did not meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
• The players had faced charges over an alleged incident in June 2018 at a hotel in London, Ontario where a 20-year-old woman says consent was not properly obtained after a Hockey Canada event.
• A 2019 police investigation that had been closed was reopened in 2022 following media revelations of a confidential multi-million-dollar settlement between the complainant and Hockey Canada that had drawn accusations of a cover-up.
• The verdict has drawn divided reactions and revived calls for greater transparency and accountability in how Hockey Canada and the NHL handle sexual misconduct allegations.