Within minutes of starting to read her verdict, the words of Justice Maria Carroccia resonated across Canada as she bluntly assessed that: “I do not find the evidence of E.M. to be either credible or reliable”.

Observers in the courtroom reported hearing gasps of both shock and relief, reactions that mirrored those from many in Canada and beyond who have closely followed the troubling and at times, graphic, details of the case.

Five ice hockey players — Michael McLeod, Callan Foote, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Alex Formenton — were all acquitted on Thursday on charges of sexual assault in connection with a June 2018 incident at a hotel room in London, Ontario, when they were members of the country’s World Juniors hockey team.

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E.M. met McLeod and other players in Jack’s Bar in London, Ontario, on June 18 and went back to the London Delta Armouries Hotel with him, where he and other players were staying.

The group was in town to attend the Hockey Canada Foundation Gala and Golf event after winning gold at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

During her testimony via video link, E.M. said that she was naked, drunk and scared in the hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018, when four men she did not invite showed up.

She said she feared what they might do if she did not go along with their sexual demands, and adopted a “pornstar persona” to get through the night. She added that she made the choice to dance and drink with them at a bar beforehand and had consensual sex with McLeod, but did not consent to sexual acts with others.

McLeod, Hart and Dubé received oral sex from E.M. in the room, while Formenton and E.M. had vaginal sex in the hotel room’s bathroom. McLeod and E.M. also had vaginal sex a second time.

Dubé also slapped E.M.’s buttocks, and Foote did the splits over E.M. as she lay on the ground.

All five men were charged with — and found not guilty of — a single count of sexual assault each, while McLeod faced an additional charge of party to an offence.

Carroccia read and detailed her decision for more than five hours, outlining the evidence, her assessment of that evidence and the reasoning that she says supported her acquittals.

It it was the reaction of E.M., their accuser, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, to the verdict that many were curious about.

“She’s obviously very disappointed with the verdict and very disappointed with her Honour’s assessment of her honesty and reliability” Karen Bellehumeur, a lawyer representing E.M., said after the verdict.

Bellehumeur called her client E.M. a ‘hero’ saying E.M.’s purpose was standing up for herself and trying to seek accountability. But in a disquieting accusation, she added that E.M. found her treatment at times during cross-examination was insulting, unfair, mocking and disrespectful.

“I want people to understand that the entire interaction between the parties was probably about seven hours and she (E.M.) faced seven days of cross-examination on those seven hours so, think of that,” Robert Talach said in a phone interview from London, Ontario where the trial is being held.

Talach represented E.M. in her civil lawsuit against Hockey Canada that was settled in 2022, but he does not currently represent her.

“For all these people who say she had ulterior motives, there’s nothing in it for her in any meaningful way in going through this criminal process,” Talach said, pointing out that E.M. went to police right after the incident in 2018, but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.

Bellehumeur also noted the men had not been found innocent, but rather “not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.

After the verdict, prosecutors noted that they have 30 days to consider an appeal and that what they wanted was a fair trial to both the accused men and E.M. that was based on the evidence and the law and not based on “stereotypes and assumptions”.

“We want to thank E.M. for coming forward and for her strength in participating in this process,” said Meaghan Cunningham, an Ontario crown attorney outside the London courthouse moments after the verdict.

The details of this case, sometimes sexually graphic, were discussed and considered in Canada’s bedrooms and hockey rinks alike and have made news internationally.

An issue from a legal perspective is what constitutes consent when it comes to sexual activity. The issue culturally is the behaviour of Canada’s hockey prodigies and the conduct of Hockey Canada.

According to Canadian law, consent to sexual activity is defined in part by “the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question”.

“Conduct short of a voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity does not constitute consent as a matter of law.”

Carroccia said that, “in this case, I have found actual consent…” adding that she believes E.M.’s behaviour during the incident was “not motivated by fear”.

The five men and their teammates testified during the trial that E.M. repeatedly asked for sexual activities and became annoyed when they would not comply.

While in Canadian law consent must be ongoing and cannot be given after any sexual encounter, Carroccia reportedly said she reviewed two short videos of E.M. taken by McLeod that defence lawyers claimed proved consent, and that she was also able to determine that E.M. was not intoxicated to the point of being unable to give consent.

E.M. is heard saying in the videos that it was “all consensual” and that she was OK.

Carroccia noted on Thursday that in the video, E.M. is wiping her eyes.

E.M. testified this could have been her crying. The judge found that to be speculative.

During the weeks-long trial, the court heard from multiple teammates, including current Vegas Golden Knights player Brett Howden.

He frequently cited being unable to remember the events from seven years ago, even prompting a voir dire or trial within a trial when prosecutors accused him of feigning his memory loss.

His previous statements and social media communications were ruled inadmissible, due to being coerced by Hockey Canada investigators — as players were threatened with penalties such as suspension if they did not cooperate — or for being heresay.

In one 2018 text to a teammate, Howden said he left the hotel room as “Duber” was smacking E.M.’s buttocks “so hard”.

“It looked like it hurt so bad.”

Carroccia ruled the text could not be used as evidence because Howden could not verify its accuracy seven years later.

In previous statements to investigators, he described hearing E.M. cry during this interaction.

In the same interview, Howden said he heard her “weeping” and left because he “didn’t want to be a part of anything”.

Carroccia found that Dubé did slap E.M. buttocks, but did not think Dube was one of the men taking turns slapping her as hard as they could, as reported by CBC.

Howden also described being shown the consent videos by McLeod, telling investigators “Mikey” had recorded it after E.M.’s “little episode”.

“He’s like, ‘This is when she calmed down’,” he said.

“So I don’t know if that means after she was crying and stuff.”

McLeod told investigators that E.M. did become upset at points in the night, but because she was embarrassed the men would not have vaginal intercourse with her.

A group chat between the players involved that night — totalling 11 men including current players Howden, Calgary Flames player Jake Bean, Ottawa Senators player Drake Batherson, Dallas Stars player Sam Steel, Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) player and former Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes player Maxime Comtois, and former KHL and American Hockey League (AHL) player Tyler Steenbergen — was also discussed in court.

Only Howden, Steenbergen, New York Rangers player Taylor Raddysh and Tampa Bay Lightning player Boris Katchouk were called as witnesses — the latter two making early appearances in the hotel room just after E.M. and McLeod had the first instance of sexual intercourse but before any further sexual activities took place.

Dubé created the chat after learning that Hockey Canada had been informed of the incident.

In the chat, McLeod said: “We all need to say the same thing if we get interviewed can’t have different stories or make anything up.”

They then discussed how best to have a call on FaceTime or other platforms, given their various timezones.

Bean then said: “No, boys. Like we don’t need to make anything up. No one did anything wrong. We went to that room to eat. The girl came, she wanted to have sex with all of us. No one did. She gave a few guys head, and then we got out of the room when things got too crazy. And Mikey literally has a video giving her consent.”

Dubé responded: “OK ya f*** we are fine the boys who did things got consent so just tell them that it’s fine.”

Howden said: “All we have to say is ‘someone brought the girl back to the room. We were all in there ordering food and then this girl started begging from everyone to have sex with her. Nobody would do it. But then as time went on she gave three guys head. Once things started to get out of hand we all left and got her out.’”

Comtois agreed and Bean said: “Yeah like boys that’s literally the truth so.”

McLeod later asked what he should say if questioned about why he made the consent videos.

Bean responded: “You took the videos because you wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen. And cover yourself.”

He also told players to stop talking in the group chat, and speak with their agents.

Bean’s father John Bean was the president and chief executive officer of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Calgary Flames NHL team and other sports teams, for more than 14 years until he stepped down in 2024.

On Thursday, Carroccia said the group chat was not proof of collusion and was simply them “recounting their recollections”.

During the trial, the court heard that McLeod sent a text to the team groupchat inviting them to his room for a “three-way, quick”. He then also pulled Raddysh and Katchouk into the room and asked if they wanted oral sex.

During initial investigations, McLeod said he told his teammates he was ordering food to the room.

These texts were not produced in court, and McLeod did not testify, but the court heard he left the room to receive an order of food downstairs.

An earlier settlement

Canadian broadcaster TSN first reported that E.M. had settled a lawsuit with Hockey Canada – the nation’s governing body for the sport – and a cascade of developments followed, including June 2022 parliamentary hearings over Hockey Canada’s handling of the case, and July 2022 announcements that London police and Hockey Canada would reopen their investigations.

Part of the investigation focussed on how Hockey Canada had paid $7.6 million from its National Equity Fund — which is funded partially via player registration fees — in settlements for more than 20 sexual misconduct reports since 1989.

The now-cleared hockey players have said Hockey Canada did not inform them of the settlement with E.M.

David Humphrey, a lawyer for Michael McLeod called the verdict “just”, adding that his client has suffered significant damage to his career and reputation. And he singled out the conduct of Hockey Canada and how it first handled the allegations from E.M.

“The players were only told of the lawsuit and the settlement after the fact. Had they’d been consulted, they would have refused to settle and they would have vigorously contested E.M.’s allegations. That version of events dominated headlines and created the lasting and the false, a false impression of guilt,” Humphrey said outside the courtroom.

Few believe the reckoning for Canada’s hockey culture will end with this case. Writing online for The Conversation after the verdict was announced, academics Laura Misener and Treena Orchard posited that it is sports culture that should be on trial.

“Elite athletes often operate within environments where their talent grants them special status and access to resources — monetary and otherwise — that bolster a sense of entitlement. In some instances, sport organisations exacerbate this sentiment by protecting their star performers instead of addressing misconduct, which was reflected in this case,” Misener and Orchard said.

This month, Hockey Canada published a progress report on the 2022 action plan it introduced as part of the fallout from this incident. Hockey Canada says all national team athletes, coaches and staff now undergo a mandatory enhanced screening process, and complete training on sexual violence and consent, however it acknowledges that “there is still more work to be done.”

During parliamentary hearings in June 2022, executives for Hockey Canada disclosed that the organisation was notified of the incident the day after it was alleged to have taken place in 2018.

“We immediately initiated a process to investigate, beginning by contacting police. We commissioned an independent investigation and appointed an independent adjudication panel of judges to review the findings of that investigation,” Tom Renney, Hockey Canada’s former CEO, said during testimony.

While Renney confirmed during the hearings that Hockey Canada had settled a civil lawsuit that E.M. filed in April 2022, but he did not reveal the settlement amount.

In July 2022, Hockey Canada published a letter apologising for it said was inadequate action regarding the assault allegations, and said it was reopening an internal investigation. Three months later, the organisation announced its CEO and board of directors were being replaced.

The NHL’s response to the trial

None of the five men have played in the NHL since early 2024.

McLeod and Foote both played for the New Jersey Devils, and were granted indefinite leaves of absence in January 2024. Both their contracts ran out after the season and they were not re-signed.

Hart played for the Philadelphia Flyers and was also granted an indefinite leave of absence in January 2024. He was not tendered a qualifying offer at the end of the season and became an unrestricted free agent in July 2024.

Dubé played for the Calgary Flames and was granted an indefinite leave of absence in January 2024. The team received criticism for citing his mental health as the reason, and later claimed they had no knowledge of the pending charges against him when Dubé requested the leave of absence.

Like Hart, Dubé was not tendered a qualifying offer at the end of the season and became an unrestricted free agent in July 2024.

Formenton played for the Ottawa Senators until 2022.

When the terms of a new contract could not be agreed upon, he signed with Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League (NL). He was granted a leave of absence by the team in January 2024, and revealed in court that he had “moved on from a hockey career” and now has a construction job in Canada.

McLeod, Foote and Dubé all played for the KHL before the trial started, though their contracts have ended or are set to end soon.

All members of the Canadian team from 2018 were suspended from representing the country at any international tournaments, though Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar was cleared to play for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off after an independent review led to his ban from international hockey being lifted.

Makar had previously said he was not involved in the incident.

“I wasn’t there,” he told reporters last year.

“It was a very fortunate bounce to not obviously be a part of something like that.”

The NHL released a statement in response to the players being found not guilty, saying they are still not eligible to play in the league at this stage.

“The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behaviour at issue was unacceptable,” it said.

“We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings.

“While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.”

The NHL employs a morality clause in its contracts, requiring players to “conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the club, the league or professional hockey generally”, as reported by the Globe and Mail.

The NHL Players Association (NHLPA) responded to the league’s statement by saying its players should “have the opportunity to return to work”.

Ruling the players ineligible while the NHL further evaluates the case does not align with the terms of their collective bargaining agreement, it said.

“We are addressing this dispute with the league and will have no further comment at this time.”

If cleared, it has been raised that teams may not want to sign the players due to anticipated backlash, but it would not be the first time a team has weathered the storm.

Many have pointed to the Edmonton Oilers as a possible home for Hart, though an industry insider recently said the team has no interest in hiring the goaltender.

“Any report about the Oilers having interest in Carter Hart is incorrect,” Jason Gregor said on X. “Edmonton will not be approaching him, even if he is found not guilty.”

The Oilers were criticised for hiring Stan Bowman as General Manager last year.

Bowman was the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks when prospect Kyle Beach alleges he was sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldrich.

Beach claimed that he was sexually assaulted in May 2010 and the team was made aware of the incident but did not address it as they made a run for, and eventually won, the 2010 Stanley Cup.

Aldrich resigned from the Blackhawks after the season. He was allowed his day with the cup, as is tradition.

Aldrich later went on to be a volunteer coach at a high school in Houghton, Michigan, where he was arrested and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor in 2013.

TSN reported he even had a second day with the Stanley Cup in 2016, after being released from prison and while he was on probation and a registered sex offender.

Prior to the 2022 reporting, the Blackhawks scandal was the biggest in NHL history.

Beach sued the team in 2021, eventually reaching a confidential settlement.

A second unnamed player sued the team in 2023, with a trial anticipated later this year.

The Anaheim Ducks received backlash earlier this year for hiring Joel Quenneville as their new coach.

Quenneville was the head coach of the Blackhawks during the aforementioned period.

The Vancouver Canucks also received backlash for hiring Cal Foote’s father Adam Foote as head coach in May while his son’s trial was in court.

The New York Rangers last year settled with a former employee after she made sexual assault allegations against player Artemi Panarin.

Panarin is contracted to the team until the end of the 2025/26 season.

Investigations into other alleged incidents remain ongoing, including allegations against the 2003 Canadian World Juniors hockey team and a 2014 sexual assault allegation involving eight former players for the Mississauga Steelheads, now the Brampton Steelheads, of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).