A new jury was chosen in London, Ont., on Friday for the trial of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room in 2018.
Earlier in the day, the judge declared a mistrial, setting up the need for the new trial.
Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton each faces one count of sexual assault. McLeod faces an additional count of being a party to an offence.
For the second time this week, the five men each stood in turn with his defence team and firmly said, “not guilty,” when asked by the court for their pleas Friday afternoon.
The case dates back to the summer of 2018, while they were at a London hotel following a gala celebrating the world junior hockey team’s gold-medal win months earlier.
The complainant’s identity is known in court as E.M. and it’s covered by a publication ban — which is standard in sexual assault cases.
Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia declared the mistrial after the trial opened Tuesday, when the initial jury was chosen. Reasons for the mistrial are covered under a publication ban. The process to choose new jurors began immediately after the original jury was thanked by the judge and dismissed.
“At the end of this case, it will be your responsibility to consider the evidence and my instructions, and decide whether the accused are guilty or not guilty of the crimes of which they are charged,” Carroccia told the new pool of about 200 potential jurors before the final ones were selected. “You will be responsible for determining if the guilt of [the accused] has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Carroccia told the new jury — which has nine women, five men and two alternates — not to speak to anyone about the case over the weekend or do any research about it, including listening to or reading news reports.
“Don’t discuss with anyone anything about this case. You can say I’ve been selected as a juror, but that’s it,” she said.
“If anything happens that causes you concern over the weekend, put it down in writing, put it in an envelope and give it to a court officer on Monday to give to me. Don’t discuss it amongst yourselves.”
All five accused men at one time were in the NHL.
At the time the charges were announced, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dubé was with the Calgary Flames and Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers. Formenton was signed by the Ottawa Senators but was playing in Switzerland.
Hart isn’t currently in the sport, but McLeod and Dubé have been playing with Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) teams. Foote played in a Slovakian hockey league this season and Formenton has indicated he’s working in construction in Barrie, Ont.
Prospective jurors were each asked by the judge if they have read pretrial publicity about the case and if they would be able to put it out of their minds and remain unbiased when hearing the evidence.
They’re were also asked if they know anyone connected to the case, if they’ve had a previous connection to sexual assault or if they have negative views of hockey players that would prevent them from remaining impartial during the trial.
“You must set aside any biases to judge the evidence presented at trial fairly. Bias has no place in a trial,” Carroccia told the potential jurors. “Impartiality requires that you be aware of your own personal experiences and be equally open to the views of others … It will be your duty to identify and set aside any biases and prejudices you may have to render a decision in this case.”
The proceedings are set to begin Monday morning, when the judge will give brief instructions about the jury’s responsibilities and then the Crown will make opening statements. Court will only sit for half a day because of the federal election.
