Opening statements set to begin in sexual assault trial of 5 former world junior hockey players

We’re wrapping up our live updates

After an unexpected turn of events that saw the jury be dismissed, the judge has also let media go from the courtroom for the remainder of the day. So we’re going to wind down our updates.

Court is set to resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET.

Thanks for reading along.

And if you’re just getting here, be sure to scroll down to get caught up on how the first day of proceedings unfolded.

Jury dismissed for the day

We were expecting the London police detective to testify after the break, but something happened during the lunch hour that the judge and lawyers have to discuss. So the jury has been sent home for the day.

We aren’t allowed to report on what transpired.

The judge told jurors not to discuss anything that took place over the lunch hour. “That will help us determine what the appropriate next steps are,” Carroccia said.

The jury has been asked to return to court tomorrow morning.

Reporting despite a court delay

We are waiting for the jury to get called back into the courtroom so we can resume coverage here … but our reporting deadlines continue.

I just stepped outside to voice my story for Your World Tonight with Susan Bonner and saw Katie Nicholson recording an on-camera for one of her stories coming up on your supperhour newscasts.

We’ll update this live as soon as we can.

What happens during a procedural delay

Sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts, court comes to a halt as lawyers discuss issues or other matters come up.

Right now, the lawyers and the judge are dealing with something, but the jury isn’t present, so we can’t report on it. Suffice to say, they’re trying to deal with it quickly so the first witness can testify.

I’m in the main courtroom on the 14th floor and it’s pretty stifling in here. Everyone tries not to move too much because it’s so hot, and also because the accoustics are so bad that sudden movements could mean loud noises and missing something the judge, or a lawyer or witness says.

Stay tuned.

We’re delayed

Detective will be 1st witness to testify

The first witness to testify is Det. Tiffany Waque with the London Police Service.

Waque will lead the jury through the video surveillance taken at Jack’s bar that night.

Jack’s is on Richmond Street in London and is an open-concept dance bar.

First, though, we’re breaking for lunch. Back at 2:15 p.m.

Here are the agreed statement of facts

That concludes the Crown’s opening statement.

The Crown and defence have agreed on some of the facts, so they don’t have to argue about them. The agreed facts are:

• Room 209 was registered to McLeod and Formenton.
• The date in question is June 19, 2018.
• Surveillance video from Jack’s bar and the Delta hotel are authentic and admitted.
• Five videos from Drake Batherson’s phone taken inside Jack’s bar are authentic and admitted.
• McLeod gave police two videos from his phone in 2019. The first was taken at 3:35 a.m. and the second at 4:26 a.m.
• In 2022, police got five Snapchat videos taken at Jack’s bar that night from McLeod’s phone.

‘Keep an open mind,’ jury told

E.M. left the hotel in tears, called a friend and cried in the shower, the Crown says.

McLeod texted her after police were contacted, asking her, “‘What can you do to make this go away.’”

There was also a group chat where some members of the team, including the five accused, spoke about what happened in the hotel room, that there was an investigation and to make sure they all said the same thing to investigators, according to the Crown.

Dubé and Foote asked teammates to leave out what they had each done to E.M., the Crown says.

Ultimately, it will be up to the jury to keep an open mind.

“This case is not about how you believe you would act or how you think someone would or should act in a scenario like this one,” the Crown tells the jury.

“Your task is to keep an open mind throughout this case, and not make any decisions about what did or did not happen on June 19, 2018, until you have heard all of the evidence, all of the closing submissions and Her Honour’s final instructions on the law.”

What is and isn’t consent?

The Crown says consent has a specific legal meaning, and the jury will have to decide if consent was given for each sexual act as it happened.

E.M. did not say no and didn’t physically resist, the Crown says. But she was 20, in a hotel room, drunk, with “a group of large men” that she didn’t know who were “speaking to each other as if she were not there.”

When they started telling her to do certain things, she felt she didn’t have a choice, the Crown says. On occasions she tried to leave, but the men “coaxed her into staying,” so she found herself “going through the motions.”

“The defendants took no steps to ensure there was affirmative consent when they touched her. Instead, they just did what they wanted,” the Crown argues.

McLeod took two videos on his phone toward the end of the night in which E.M. said “it was all consensual.” The Crown argues this is not evidence of consent.

Other players in room will testify

WARNING: Graphic sexual content

Crown says others in the room will testify about what happened in Room 209, Donkers says.

Each of the five accused had sexual contact with E.M. “without her voluntary agreement to the specific acts that took place,” Donkers says.

Specifically, without consent, the Crown says McLeod, Hart and Dubé obtained oral sex from her, Dubé slapped her on her buttocks and Formenton had vaginal sex with her in the bathroom. Also without her consent, Foote did the splits while naked over E.M.’s face, the Crown argues.

McLeod also had vaginal sex one more time with E.M. without her consent, according to the Crown. He faces the additional charge of ‘being a party to the offence’ because he “assisted and encouraged his teammates to engage sexually” with E.M., “knowing she had not consented.”