Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden broke down in tears during Thursday’s Hockey Canada sexual assault trial while being cross-examined over text messages he previously sent to a former teammate a week after the alleged assault.

Howden, who is not one of the five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team currently facing charges of sexual assault, told the court that he was initially afraid to talk to his family about the alleged assault. Instead, he reached out to Taylor Raddysh, another member of Team Canada's roster, who is now a right winger for the Washington Capitals.

“It was hard, even the thought of just bringing this up with my parents,” Howden said via Zoom. “I was kind of looking for a friend, because I didn't know how to go about this.”

Following questioning from the Crown, Howden was cross-examined by the defense attorney Lisa Carnelos, who is representing Dillon Dube, one of the five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team currently facing charges of sexual assault – the other four being Michael McLeod, Carter Hart Alex Formenton and Cal Foote. All five men have pleaded not guilty to their charges, with McLeod pleading not guilty to an additional charge of sexual assault as party to the offense.

These charges all stem from a June 2018 incident in which a woman, referred to in court documents as E.M., alleged she was sexually assaulted in a London, Ont. hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala.

About a week after the alleged assault, Howden began a text conversation with Raddysh, where the two discussed the ongoing Hockey Canada investigation and what occurred in the hotel room, specifically the actions of Dube.

“Dude, I’m so happy I left when all the s--- went down. Haha," Howden texted to Raddysh. "Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl’s ass so hard. Like, it looks like it hurt so bad."

Carnelos asked Howden how he was feeling when initially notified of the Hockey Canada investigation, suggesting that Howden must have been nervous. Howden, who is now 27, agreed that he was nervous at the time. Carnelos pressed further and suggested that Howden was afraid of what his father would say.

“That was one of the hardest things to go through, explaining this to my family,” Howden said.

Carnelos also suggested that it also must have been hard for Howden to tell his then-girlfriend at the time. Howden agreed. Carnelos then added that Howden and her are now married and just had their second child together, before congratulating Howden.

It was at this point that Howden broke down crying. 

The presiding judge, Maria Carroccia, asked if Howden needed a break, but he calmed down and said he reached out to Raddysh as a friend because Howden was afraid to talk to his family about the incident.

“It was hard, even the thought of just bringing this up with my parents,” Howden said. “I was kind of looking for a friend, because I didn't know how to go about this.”

The main focus of the text messages was Howden telling Raddysh that Dube was allegedly “smacking this girl’s ass so hard.” When previously questioned by the Crown, Howden had said that he didn’t remember sending that exact message or the others in that conversation. When the Crown asked if Howden was being “truthfully factual” when he sent these messages to Raddysh, Howden agreed.

"I believe that I was being honest," Howden said.

Following Howden’s dismissal for the day by Justice Carroccia, the Crown and defense teams analyzed Howden’s message regarding Dube further. The defense argued that despite Howden believing that he was being honest and truthful at the time he sent the message, this doesn’t mean he was necessarily accurate in his message, a point expressed by one of Hart’s lawyers, Riaz Sayani . 

“A belief in honesty and accuracy are two different things,” Sayani said.

Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham responded to the defense, explaining that Howden was not simply assuming that he told the truth in these messages, but that it was what he truly believed.

“Mr. Howden didn't say ‘I would not lie’ or ‘I would have told the truth,’” Cunningham said. “He says, ‘I believe I was being honest.’ ‘I believe that is the truth.’”

Following the arguments from both sides, Justice Carroccia ended the court proceedings for the day, saying that she would need some time to make a decision on the admissibility of the text message, as well as whether the Crown will be able to cross-examine Howden.

The trial is expected to resume Friday morning.