The police of the Canadian city of London are sorry to the victim “for the time that has passed” in an investigation that has already been shelved.
Five Canadian hockey players have been accused of sexual misconduct in 2018, and the scandal has rocked hockey-loving Canada.
On Monday, the police in the Canadian city of London held a press conference about the matter and apologized to the victim for the time that had passed since the incident until charges were filed.
Among the accused are four current NHL players: New Jersey Michael McLeod and Cal Footeof the Philadelphia Flyers Carter Hart and the Calgary Flames Dillon Dube. Previously played in the NHL Alex Formenton currently plays in Switzerland.
The players’ lawyers have announced that the defendants will answer the matter in court and everyone is expected to declare that they are innocent. The next court hearing is on April 30.
The defendants were on the Canadian team that won the 2018 World Youth Championship. The Canadian Ice Hockey Association organized a gala for the team in London, Ontario in the summer of 2018. A young woman says she was the victim of gang rape after the gala at a local hotel.
According to court documents, the woman (known as EM in the documents) went to a hotel room with one of the players and they had consensual sex. Later, other players had entered the room, and EM told the police that he had been sexually assaulted.
The police investigated the events after the gala in 2019, but the investigation was closed and no charges were brought.
The London police reopened the investigation in 2022. Information has become public that the Canadian Hockey Association paid compensation to the young woman in 2022. It has also come to light that since 1989, the Canadian Hockey Association has paid $8.9 million in compensation in a total of 21 cases of suspected sex crimes that were settled without trial.
Chief Constable of London Thai Truong said the police found new evidence after reopening the investigation, which led to the charges being filed. The police were very tight-lipped about the case and the investigation, and Truong apologized several times for how the victim has had to wait so long for the case to progress.
– On behalf of the London Police Department, I would like to convey my sincere apologies to the victim and his family for the time it has taken to get to this point. Such a situation is really, really difficult for all victims of sexual violence.