Ottawa
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Within minutes of reading her verdict, Judge Maria Carrotcha’s words resonated throughout Canada.
Court observers reported hearing a gasp of both shock and relief, a reaction that reflected people from many people in Canada.
Five hockey players — Michael McLeod, Cal Foot, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Alex Formentton — were all acquitted Thursday on charges of sexual assault in a June 2018 incident in a hotel room in London, Ontario.
In testimony via video link, EM said she was naked, drunk and scared in her hotel room when the four men she had not invited appeared. She said she was afraid of what they would do if they didn’t go with the sexual demands. She added that she chose to dance and drink with them in the bar in advance, having agreed sex with one of the players but did not agree to sexually acts with others.
The Associated Press reported that Judge Carroccia read her decision for more than five hours, detailed explanations, and outlined the evidence, an assessment of the evidence, and why she said she supported her acquittal.
But that was the reaction of their accusers, whose identity was protected by a ban on publishing, and many were interested.
“She is clearly very disappointed with the verdict and very disappointed with her reputation for her integrity and credibility,” said Karen Belfour, the lawyer representing EM, after the verdict.
Bellehumur called client Em a “hero” saying that Em’s purpose was trying to stand up for herself and seek accountability. However, in the unpleasant accusations, she added that EM sometimes found her treatment to be humiliating, unfair, mocking and rude during mutual examinations.
“Think about that because we want people to understand that the overall interaction between the parties is probably about seven hours and that she (EM) faced a seven-day mutual consultation in those seven hours,” Robert Tarach said in a telephone interview in London, Ontario, where the trial is being held.
Talach represented EM in her civil lawsuit against Hockey Canada, which settled in 2022, but he is not currently representing her.
“For all these people who say she has impure motives, there’s nothing for her in a meaningful way to go through this criminal process,” Tallach said.
Details of this case were sometimes sexually graphic and discussed and considered in Canadian bedrooms and hockey rinks.
The issue from a legal perspective is what constitutes consent regarding sexual activity. Culturally, it is the behavior of Canadian hockey geniuses and hockey Canada’s behavior.
According to Canadian law, consent to sexual activity is partially defined as “… a voluntary agreement of the petitioner engaged in the sexual activity in question. Any implementation other than a voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity does not constitute consent as a matter of law.”
Carroccia said, “In this case, I found the actual consent…” she added that she believes EM’s actions during the incident were “not motivated by fear.”
While Canadian law has consent ongoing and is not given after a sexual encounter, Judge Carroccia reportedly reviewed two short videos of EM taken by McLeod, who claimed consent proven by her lawyer, and also stated that she could have determined that the EM was not intoxicated by the inability to give consent.
In the video, I hear it is “all agreement” and she says she’s fine.
After the verdict, prosecutors said they had 30 days to consider appeals and what they wanted was a fair trial against both the accused and the EM based on evidence and law that was not based on “stereotypes and assumptions.”
“We would like to thank her for pushing her strength forward in participating in this process,” said Megan Cunningham, an attorney for Crown, Ontario, outside the London Court moment after the verdict.
Canadian broadcaster TSN was the first to report that EM had resolved a lawsuit with Hockey Canada (the governing body for sports). A series of developments followed, including a parliamentary hearing on the handling of Canadian cases in June 2022, with London Police and Hockey announced in July 2022 that they would resume their investigation.
Hockey players, now exempt, say Hockey Canada didn’t know they had the settlement known.
Michael McLeod’s lawyer David Humphrey called the verdict “Just,” adding that his clients had caused great damage to his career and reputation. And he picked out the actions of Hockey Canada and how it first dealt with the allegations from em.
“The players only spoke about the lawsuit and settlement after the fact. If they had been discussed, they would have refused to settle and they would have been fiercely disputed the EM claim.
Few people believe that the calculations of Canada’s hockey culture will end with this incident. Writing online for conversation after the verdict was announced, scholars Laura Misner and Trina Orchard assumed that it was a sporting culture that should be brought to justice.
“Elite athletes often operate within environments where talent grants access to special status and resources (monetary and other) that enhance the sense of qualification. In some cases, sports organizations exacerbate this sentiment by protecting star performers instead of dealing with the misconduct reflected in this case.
This month, Hockey Canada released a progress report on the 2022 Action Plan, which was introduced as part of the fallout from the incident. According to Hockey Canada, athletes, coaches and staff on all national teams undergo a mandatory, reinforced screening process and fully trained in sexual violence and consent, but they acknowledge that there is “more jobs.”
At a parliamentary hearing in June 2022, Hockey Canada officials revealed that the organization was notified of the incident the following day, which allegedly took place in 2018.
“Starting by contacting the police, we immediately began the process of investigating. We appointed an independent investigation and an independent arbitrary panel to review the findings of that investigation.”
Rennie confirmed during the hearing that Hockey Canada had resolved a civil lawsuit filed in April 2022, but he refused to disclose the amount of the settlement.
In July 2022, Hockey Canada issued a letter apologising for stating it was an inadequate lawsuit over allegations of attack, saying it was reopening its internal investigation. Three months later, the organization announced that its CEO and board of directors had been replaced.
