Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote — four members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team — were charged with sexual assault in connection to an incident that occurred in 2018 in London, Ont., the lawyers of each player confirmed to The Athletic.
Each lawyer issued separate statements Tuesday.
“We can now confirm that more than five and a half years after EM’s initial complaint to police, the London Police Service has charged Mike McLeod with sexual assault,” the e-mailed statement from David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein read.
The statement indicated that McLeod denies any criminal wrongdoing and “will be pleading not guilty and will vigorously defend the case.”
The statement added, “None of the evidence has been presented, let alone tested in court. We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod’s privacy, and his family’s privacy. Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time.”
Later on Tuesday, a lawyer representing Dube released a similar statement.
“The London Police Service have charged Mr. Dube with sexual assault. He will plead not guilty and maintains his innocence,” the statement from Louis Stress read. “He will defend the allegations in court. We ask that you respect the privacy of Mr. Dube and that of his family.”
A statement on behalf of Hart — attributed to his lawyers Megan Savard and Riaz Salani — read, “We act for Carter Hart and confirm 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 proper forum, a court of law. Until then, we have no comment.”
Julianna Greenspan, representing Foote, said Tuesday night in a statement: “Cal is innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name. What is most critical at this time is the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial that everyone in Canada is entitled to. As the matter is before the court, I ask that Cal’s and his family’s privacy be respected. There will be no further comment at this time.”
McLeod, Dube, Hart and Foote are the second, third, fourth and fifth players to be publicly identified in the case after Alex Formenton’s lawyer confirmed the former Ottawa Senators player was charged by London Police on Sunday. The Globe and Mail reported that five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team were told to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges last week.
On Sunday, London police told The Athletic that they will “provide all updates” related to the case at a news conference scheduled for Feb. 5.
The Globe and Mail reported the pending charges are related to an alleged sexual assault of a woman by several players in a London hotel room on June 19, 2018, following a Hockey Canada Foundation event.
The allegations were made public in a lawsuit filed by the woman against Hockey Canada in April 2022. In the complaint, filed in Ontario Superior Court, the woman alleged she was assaulted by eight players in a hotel room after the 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 made public, 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 filed.
When reached for comment, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league won’t be making a statement “at this time.” The NHLPA also declined to comment.
The 25-year-old Hart appeared in 26 games for the Flyers this season. On Jan. 24, Hart requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the Flyers for personal reasons.
Dube, 25, had appeared in 43 games with the Flames this season. On Jan. 21, the Flames issued a statement that read, “Dillon Dube has been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team while he attends to his mental health. Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we request that Dillon’s privacy is respected during this period.”
On Tuesday, the Flames released another statement saying they “have now become aware” of the allegations against Dube and the organization “had no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon’s request for a leave of absence was granted.”
McLeod, 25, has appeared in 45 games for the Devils this season. Foote, also 25, split 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 had requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The Devils declined to comment any further to The Athletic on Tuesday night.
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