Report: Five Team Canada 2018 World Junior team members ordered to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges

Five members of the Team Canada gold medal-winning 2018 World Junior Championship roster have been ordered by London, Ont., police to surrender to face charges of sexual assault, according to The Globe and Mail.

The five players, who have not yet been charged, have also not yet been identified. The pending charges stem from an alleged group sexual assault of a woman in June 2018 following a Hockey Canada gala in London to celebrate their team win six months earlier in Buffalo.

It is unclear when exactly the players have been summoned to appear in London, though the Globe reported that they have been given a set time to present themselves at London Police Service headquarters.

In fact, it may be a while longer before additional information comes to light. The London Police Service issued an update on Wednesday saying that they anticipated holding a press conference on Monday, Feb. 5, to shed more light on the reported pending charges.

“We understand that there is significant public interest in relation to a sexual assault investigation dating back to 2018,” the LPS said. “While we are unable to provide an update at this time, we anticipate that the London Police will hold a press conference on Monday, February 5, 2024 to share further details.”

London Police initially investigated the alleged sexual assault and closed the case without charges in 2019. However, the alleged victim filed a civil suit in court, which TSN reported in May 2022 was quietly settled by Hockey Canada for $3.55 million dollars, embroiling the organization in controversy.

According to the lawsuit, the woman met the players in a bar after the Hockey Canada Foundation & Golf event on June 18, 2018. She arrived at the bar at approximately 11:00 p.m. and met one of the players, referred to as John Doe 1, who purchased her alcoholic beverages and introduced her to his teammates, who bought her shots and other alcoholic beverages. The woman, who, according to the claim, had slurred speech, glassy eyes and a loss of balance as a result of her intoxication, was eventually separated from her friends and went to the Delta Amouries Hotel with John Doe 1.

After the woman and John Doe 1 “engaged in sexual acts,” she alleges that he invited seven additional members of the team into the hotel room without her knowledge or consent. 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.”

In the months that followed TSN’s report of the settlement, the Canadian government froze Hockey Canada’s funding (not restoring it until April 2023); it was reported that Hockey Canada had earmarked a fund that used registration money to pay for, among other things, settlements related to accusations of sexual assault and other forms of abuse; and a slew of major sponsors withdrew their support for Hockey Canada, from Nike to Canadian Tire to Tim Hortons and countless others. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage convened a series of parliamentary hearings demanding more information on how Hockey Canada handled claims of abuse. In the wake of the scandal, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith and the organization’s entire board of directors resigned in October 2022.

As a result of the reporting on the scandal, the London Police reopened their investigation in July 2022, leading to the pending charges for five players on Wednesday.

NHL sources told Daily Faceoff that the league’s investigation into the incident, which is ongoing, and any subsequent punishment would not proceed until after the London Police finished their investigation.

The NHL Players’ Association said it planned to offer comment when and if official charges are laid by the London Police Service.

When contacted by Daily Faceoff on Tuesday night, the London Police Service said they had no further information.

“We are unable to provide an update at this time,” spokesperson acting Sgt. Sandasha Bough wrote in an email. “When there is further information to share regarding this investigation, we will be in contact with media outlets.”

Daily Faceoff senior writer Matt Larkin contributed to this report.