No evidence heard at sexual assault trial for ex-world junior hockey players in London, Ont.

No evidence was heard Thursday at the trial of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018. 

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton each faces one count of sexual assault. McLeod faces an additional count of being a party to an offence. All the players have pleaded not guilty.

The complainant’s identity, who’s known in court as E.M., is covered by a publication ban — which is standard in sexual assault cases. 

A jury in the highly anticipated case was chosen on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, the 14 jurors heard instructions from the judge and then the Crown’s opening statements before being told to go home for the day as lawyers and Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia discussed a legal matter. 

All of Thursday was taken up by arguments without the jury present. Such discussions are always covered by a mandatory publication ban. 

At the time the charges were announced, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dubé was with the Calgary Flames and Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers. Formenton was signed by the Ottawa Senators but was playing in Switzerland. Foote and Hart aren’t currently in the sport, but McLeod and Dubé have been playing with Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) teams. Formenton has indicated he’s working in construction in Barrie, Ont. 

They’re accused in a case that dates back to the summer of 2018 while they were at a London hotel following a gala celebrating the world junior hockey team’s gold-medal win months earlier.

Court is expected to resume Friday morning.