Jury Finds Ex-NHLer Virtanen Not Guilty of Sexual Assault

A jury in the British Columbia Supreme Court has found former NHL forward Jake Virtanen not guilty of sexual assault on Tuesday afternoon. 

Virtanen was charged with sexual assault in January in relation to an incident that occurred in a Vancouver hotel room in 2017 when Virtanen was a member of the Canucks. The 23-year-old female who filed the charges against Virtanen approached the Vancouver Police with a complaint about the incident in May of 2021, causing the department to open an investigation. 

Throughout the trial, the woman testified that she repeatedly told Virtanen "no" during their encounter, while Virtanen described the woman as an "enthusiastic participant". 

Virtanen was placed on leave by the Canucks after the allegations became public and was ultimately bought out by the team during the summer of 2021, never playing for them again.

The 25-year-old most recently played for the KHL's Spartak Moscow after failing to receive an NHL offer.