Report: Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote directed to surrender to police on 2018 sexual assault charges
Last week, the Globe and Mail reported that five NHL players were ordered to surrender to London, Ont., police on charges for an alleged sexual assault in 2018. One of them, Alex Formenton, turned himself in on Sunday.
According to TSN’s Rick Westhead, the other four players have been identified as of Tuesday.
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and New Jersey Devils players Michael McLeod and Cal Foote have been directed to surrender to London Police. All four players officially took a leave of absence from their respective clubs last week. Formenton – who previously played for the Ottawa Senators – reported to police after leaving his club in Switzerland earlier in the week.
All five players were members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Championship team. Canada went on to win gold in Buffalo, beating Sweden in the championship game. Each of the players is currently 25 years old and all have NHL experience. Formenton is the lone player without an NHL contract, but the Senators still hold his rights after offering him a qualifying offer in 2022.
In a statement to Sportsnet, Louis P. Strezos and Kaleigh Davidson – representatives for Dube – said the Flames forward will plead not guilty and “maintains his innocence. He will defend the allegations in court.”
On behalf of Carter Hart, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani of Savard and Foy confirmed with Sportsnet that Hart was charged with one count of sexual assault and “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the proper forum, a court of law.”
In another statement, David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein of Greenspan Humphrey Weinstein said that McLeod “denies any criminal wrongdoing” and will be pleading not guilty.
Foote’s attorney, Julianna Greenspan, later confirmed he has been charged with sexual assault, adding that “he is innocent of the charge and will defend himself against the allegation to clear his name.”
According to Westhead, it’s unlikely the case will go to trial before 2026 due to a backlog in Ontario’s court system.
In 2022, TSN reported that Hockey Canada had settled a $3.55-million lawsuit for a woman referred to as E.M. The complainant alleged in a civil lawsuit that after leaving a bar to have sex with an unnamed man, the man invited other players to his room to have sex with E.M.
The claim states that, in the hours that followed, John Does 1-8 engaged in several sexual acts “which collectively constituted sexual abuse and assault of the plaintiff.” The claim stated the actions of John Does 1-8 “caused terror and fear” in the woman’s mind and that she did not give consent to any of the actions because she was so intoxicated.
The claim also states that the woman was “intimidated by the number of men and the fact they brought golf clubs to the room.”
As a result of the reporting, London Police, reopened the investigation in 2022. London Police has a press conference planned for Monday, Feb. 5 to update the media and the public on the investigation.