Judge announces during closing arguments that the sex assault trial of former Hockey Canada players will be decided on July 24

 

The high-profile sexual assault trial involving five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team is approaching its conclusion, with Justice Anne London-Weinstein announcing a verdict will be delivered on July 24, 2025.

The accused — Dillon Dubé, Cale Fleury, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod — each pleaded not guilty to charges related to an alleged group sexual assault that occurred following a Hockey Canada gala in June 2018 in London, Ontario. The case has ignited national outrage and led to sweeping changes in how sexual misconduct is addressed in Canadian sports.

Warning: This section contains graphic content.

The entrance to Room 209 at the Delta Armouries hotel in London, Ontario — registered that night to Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton — was central to the events described in court.

Defense lawyer Megan Carnelos recounted her client Dillon Dubé’s version of what happened upon entering the room. According to Carnelos, Dubé saw Carter Hart receiving oral sex and heard the complainant, referred to as E.M., requesting additional sexual acts.

Carnelos stated that E.M.’s demeanor did not appear to change even when others in the room encouraged another participant to engage in oral sex. She said Dubé then briefly took part but pulled away of his own accord.

Addressing specific allegations, Carnelos emphasized that Dubé did not tell the detective he had slapped E.M.’s buttocks. While other players recalled butt-slapping incidents, the nature and intensity of the contact remained unclear.

E.M., however, testified that she was struck hard enough for it to hurt and that she asked the men to stop.

The court also heard about a text message later sent by player Brett Howden to teammate Taylor Raddysh, in which Howden described Dubé as “smacking this girl’s ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.” That message was deemed inadmissible as evidence, as it was considered hearsay.

Carnelos argued that Dubé’s omission of the alleged slapping during his interview with police did not indicate guilt and asserted his legal right to remain silent on that matter.

The Allegations and the Trial

The case centers on allegations that the five men assaulted a woman, then 20 years old, in a London hotel room. The woman, who remains anonymous under a publication ban, reported the incident to police in 2018. After an initial investigation was closed without charges, renewed scrutiny in 2022—driven by media exposure and public pressure—led to the case being reopened.

Over the course of a six-week trial, the Crown and defense presented drastically different portrayals of what transpired that night. The prosecution argued the woman was intoxicated and unable to give consent, highlighting inconsistencies in the players’ testimonies and emphasizing the psychological toll the event had on the complainant.

Defense lawyers for the five accused painted the incident as consensual and argued that the woman’s memory was unreliable. Each of the players exercised their right not to testify.

E.M. told court previously that the men were joking and talking about putting golf clubs and golf balls into her vagina.

During his interview with police, Dubé said he had a golf club in his hands at one point while in Delta hotel Room 209 on the night in question because there was a golf event the next day.

“It would be reasonable for golf clubs to be in Room 209,” Carnelos says. “He himself was holding a golf club. Quite frankly, nothing strange about that.”

She adds her client is “not particularly articulate,” but he describes to the best of his ability what he remembers.

“There’s no evidence he did anything with [the golf club] but he didn’t shy away from acknowledging” he was holding a golf club at one point.

“That is a serious hallmark of honesty,” Carnelos says.

Dubé told police E.M. was “coming at” the guys and “chirping them,” and that she said to him, “‘Are you going to play golf or f–ck me?” when she saw him with the golf club.

Carnelos says her client got consent from E.M. to receive oral sex.

The allegations triggered widespread fallout. Hockey Canada faced intense public criticism for its initial handling of the case and for using registration fees to settle previous claims. Sponsors such as Scotiabank and Canadian Tire withdrew support, and multiple members of Hockey Canada’s leadership resigned amid the backlash.

In response, the federal government froze funding to the organization, and parliamentary hearings were held to address the broader culture of silence and misconduct in elite hockey. Since then, Hockey Canada has implemented policy reforms, including mandatory sexual violence training and a new independent complaint mechanism.

Dubé did not answer the group text from McLeod that invited men into his room for a threesome, Carnelos reminds the judge.

The text went out at 2:09 a.m., but Dubé didn’t get back to the hotel until 3:13 a.m., after leaving Jack’s bar, going to get poutine and “goofing around” with some of his teammates and the sledge hockey team. He was obviously not in a hurry to get back to have sex with a woman, Carnelos says.
The walk from Jack’s bar to the Delta is about 14 minutes, but it took Dubé and the guys he was with about 45 minutes to get back to the hotel.

“He didn’t know and he didn’t care” that there was a woman in Room 209, Carnelos says. “He just wanted to be with his friends. It was a weekend to celebrate.”
Dubé is a reliable and credible witness whose story is backed up by other witnesses, including Steenbergen, Carnelos adds.

What’s Next

Justice London-Weinstein said she will deliver her ruling on July 24, acknowledging the complexity of the evidence and the significance of the decision. The case will be decided by judge alone, not by jury.

Regardless of the verdict, the trial represents a watershed moment for Canadian hockey—one that has forced the sport to confront uncomfortable truths about culture, accountability, and the treatment of survivors.

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If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can contact the Talk4Healing line at 1-855-554-4325 or the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres.