The Hockey Canada sexual assault trial is taking place at Ontario Superior Court in London, Ont. (Anthony Fava) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7819e56d-5f32-4643-90a3-23eabf72d14e.jpeg] The Hockey Canada sexual assault trial is taking place at Ontario Superior Court in London, Ont. (Anthony Fava) Warning: coverage of the Hockey Canada trial includes details of alleged sexual assault that may be disturbing to readers. The first Crown witness, London Police detective Tiffany Waque, continued her testimony [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/hockey-canada-sexual-assault-trial-crown-calls-first-witness-to-testify-in-front-of-new-jury] in court Tuesday during the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. Anthony Fava recaps what happened in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial on April 29. Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team – Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote – each face a charge of sexual assault. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/trial-for-former-canadian-world-junior-players-set-to-begin-tuesday-what-led-to-it-and-whats-next] McLeod faces an additional charge of sexual assault as party to the offense. The charges are connected to a June 2018 incident in which a woman, whose identity is protected under a publication ban but is identified in court documents as E.M., alleges she was sexually assaulted in a London, Ont., hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala. The players pleaded not guilty to the charges. Today, Crown attorney Heather Donkers continued presenting photos and footage from security cameras and phone cameras from inside Jack’s Bar – the London bar where McLeod and other team members initially met E.M. While the exhibits were being shown to the court, Donkers asked Waque to clarify the location of the footage or photo, as well as which individuals were being shown. The videos show the first interactions that occurred between E.M. and members of the world junior team. One video showed E.M. standing at one of the smaller bars within Jack’s, when she appears to be approached by a man. “That is Brett Howden,” Waque said. Howden was a member of the 2018 world junior team and is currently a center with the Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights]. According to the video footage, after Howden leaves E.M. at the bar, he eventually returns with McLeod, who begins speaking with E.M. McLeod and Howden are seen wearing backward baseball caps in the footage. According to more video footage, E.M. and McLeod took shots of alcohol together. Another piece of video evidence shows the dance floor at Jack's. The first video from the dance floor was taken from the phone of current Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] right winger Drake Batherson, according to Waque. Batherson is on the list of potential witnesses [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/hockey-canada-sexual-assault-trial-day-1-nhlers-revealed-as-potential-witnesses-plus-not-guilty-pleas-and-jury-selection] for the trial. The 13-second video was taken between midnight and 2:30 a.m. on June 19, 2018 – it was difficult for police to determine the exact time because some of the players’ phones were from different time zones. It shows multiple team members dancing on the bar’s dance floor to the song Mr. Brightside by The Killers. The players shown in the videos include current Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames] defenseman Jake Bean, Foote, Batherson, Howden and current Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche] defenseman Cale Makar. Bean, Howden and Makar are also on the potential witness list. Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial Begins: Crown Calls First Witness To Testify [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/4b496123-7631-4b24-8663-cb90d147b74c.jpeg] Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial Begins: Crown Calls First Witness To Testify Warning: coverage of the Hockey Canada trial includes details of alleged sexual assault that may be disturbing to readers. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/hockey-canada-sexual-assault-trial-crown-calls-first-witness-to-testify-in-front-of-new-jury] In the second video from Batherson’s phone, Batherson, McLeod, Foote and Maxime Comtois – a former NHLer and potential witness in the trial – are seen dancing once again, this time to the song Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi. Upon returning from the lunch break, the presiding judge, Justice Maria Carroccia, determined that technical issues and the physical heat within the courtroom needed to be resolved before the proceedings could continue. “For the second day in a row, we’re adjourning early. We will start fresh tomorrow,” Carroccia told the jury, sending them home for the day. These technical and heat-related issues affected much of Tuesday’s court session, but the trial is set to resume Wednesday morning, when Waque will continue her testimony along with more video and photo evidence to be shown.
