London Police Chief Thai Truong said there was much he could not reveal about why the police investigation was initially closed without charges in 2019
LONDON, Ont. — Nearly six years after a woman alleged she had been sexually assaulted by five then-members of Canada’s world junior hockey team, the police chief of a southwestern Ontario city offered an apology for how long it had taken for charges to be laid in the case.
Chief Thai Truong said there was much he could not reveal about why the police investigation that began in 2018 was initially closed without charges in 2019, before being reopened three years later.
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But Truong said he, on behalf of the force, was extending his “sincerest apology” for the time it had taken for the case to reach its present point.
“This should not take this long,” Truong said at a news conference Monday. “It shouldn’t take years and years for us to arrive to the outcome of today.”
Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault last month. McLeod is also facing an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence.”
Lawyers for the players have said their clients will defend themselves against the allegations.
The charges in the case relate to an alleged incident at a hotel in London in June 2018, after members of the world junior team celebrated a gold-medal win.
Police said some members of the team went, after a celebratory event, to a downtown London bar where they met the complainant in the case. The woman then went to a hotel with one of the accused, police said, and the four other accused went to the same hotel, where the alleged offences took place.
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Police said someone related to the complainant called the force later that morning seeking advice regarding an alleged sexual assault.
Police later decided to review the investigation in July 2022. London Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann said Monday that officers found new evidence that helped lead to the charges.
“Upon review of the occurrence, it was determined that there were additional steps that could be taken to advance the investigation,” Dann said, adding that the complainant “fully participated” throughout the investigation.
“Our team explored investigative opportunities in addition to the 2018 investigation … Additional witnesses were spoken to and we collected more evidence. I can confirm that some of this evidence was not available when the investigation concluded in 2019.”
Truong said he had not spoken directly to the then-police chief about why a review of the case was ordered, but said he understood that “information came to light as a result of the community.”
“Why it took so long will form part of the proceedings, but it is completely inappropriate for me to talk about those details at this time,” he said. “There will be a time where I’ll be able to speak about the matter, but I cannot jeopardize the ongoing case.”
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Police on Monday also read out a statement from the legal representative for the complainant in the case.
“It takes an incredible amount of courage for any survivor of sexual assault to report to the police and participate in the criminal justice system. That is certainly true for E.M.,” the statement said. “Yet she remains committed to see this process through.”
The case had its first court hearing earlier Monday, where lawyers for the players appeared on their clients’ behalf.
During the brief hearing, prosecutors sought and obtained an order protecting the identity of the complainant, which is standard in sexual assault cases, as well as that of two witnesses.
Assistant Crown attorney Heather Donkers also said the players’ lawyers would receive “substantial disclosure” in the next few days. Disclosure is the evidence collected by the prosecution against the accused.
The case will be back in court April 30.
Hockey Canada and the NHL, where four of the accused now play, had launched their own investigations into the case.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week the league would wait until the criminal case has concluded before commenting. Hockey Canada has not issued an official statement on the charges.
Dube plays for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a team in Switzerland. All have been permitted to go on indefinite leave.
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EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
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AP tennis:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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