Five World Juniors players told to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges: report
Five players of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors roster have reportedly been called to London, Ontario, police headquarters in order to surrender in connection to potential charges.
London police have reportedly called the five players to “face charges of sexual assault, according to two sources,” as per a report from the Globe and Mail‘s Robyn Doolittle.
The police have yet to publicly comment on the case, telling multiple media outlets that an update will be released “when there is further information to share regarding this investigation.”
Later in the day, the London Police added they anticipate holding a news conference on February 5 in connection to the case.
The five players have yet to be named, with the pending charges stemming back to an alleged group sexual assault of a woman occurring in London in June 2018, following a Hockey Canada fundraising gala celebrating the team’s gold medal at the 2018 World Juniors. The initial investigation was closed without charges in 2019.
Five members of the 2018 team have taken leaves from their respective teams this week, citing personal and mental health reasons: Alex Formenton from the Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta, Carter Hart from the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube from the Calgary Flames, and Cal Foote and Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils.
The website for HC Ambrí-Piotta, the team that Alex Formenton plays for in Switzerland, says the club has granted the Canadian an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons and has allowed Formenton to return to Canada. pic.twitter.com/S8QHXEGKfj
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) January 24, 2024
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 21, 2024
Per Philadelphia Flyers General Manager, Daniel Briere:
"Carter Hart has requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons. The club will have no further comment at this time." pic.twitter.com/jC1GyxcKWR
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 23, 2024
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 24, 2024
Since the allegations first came to light in 2022, Hockey Canada’s board of directors has faced heavy criticism over its handling of the incident, including several major sponsors either temporarily or permanently withdrawing their funding of the organization. It was revealed in May 2022 that Hockey Canada had paid $7.6 million over nine settlements since 1989 in relation to sexual assault cases, as per Sportsnet.
The entire board of directors ultimately resigned in 2022, as did board director Michael Brind’Amour and CEO Scott Smith.
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