Hockey Canada learns of alleged sexual assault involving members of 2002-03 World Junior Championship Team

Trigger warning: this article discusses allegations of sexual assault.

As key decision makers from Hockey Canada and the Canadian major junior leagues prepare to testify next week before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Parliament Hill regarding the handling of the alleged sexual assault involving members of the 2017-18 Canadian World Junior team, another bombshell dropped Friday afternoon.

According to a statement issued by Hockey Canada, the national hockey body learned Thursday of an alleged sexual assault involving members of the 2002-03 World Junior team. Hockey Canada was contacted by TSN investigative reporter Rick Westhead with “disturbing details” of the alleged incident, and Westhead told Hockey Canada he has “spoken to multiple witnesses who provided him with explicit descriptions of an assault” – following an interview with Conservative MP John Nater, who is in possession of the same information.

“The details in Mr. Westhead’s email were deeply disturbing and Hockey Canada immediately contacted Halifax Regional Police, as Halifax was the co-host city of the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship, and also notified Sport Canada of the information shared with us,” the statement said. “We have urged Mr. Westhead to immediately speak with police and to encourage his sources to do the same. We also implore MP Nater to contact the authorities with any information he or his office has received on this alleged group sexual assault.”

The statement also claims that Hockey Canada “heard a rumor” about “something bad at the 2003 World Juniors” and hired a third-party investigator to find more information but that the organization was “unable to learn anything” before receiving the details from Westhead.

Later on Friday, the NHL released the following statement regarding the allegations:

“We were made aware earlier today of the horrific allegations against members of the 2002-03 Canadian National Junior Team. The National Hockey League will look into the allegations and will respond appropriately.”

Westhead shared more details about the alleged assault in a report filed with TSN on Friday afternoon.

According to one of three anonymous sources who communicated with Westhead, an unnamed camera operator filmed “roughly a half-dozen players taking turns having sex with a woman who was non-responsive and lying face up on [a] pool table.”

Each of the three sources “independently described the six- or seven-minute video” and told Westhead they would be willing to testify about it in front of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.