LONDON, Ont. — A judge’s gavel fell hard on Friday, April 25, 2025, shattering the sexual assault trial of five former Canadian world junior hockey players just days after it began. Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia declared a mistrial, dismissing a 14-member jury and leaving a packed courtroom in stunned silence. The case, tied to an alleged 2018 incident at a Hockey Canada gala, now resets with a new jury selection already underway.
The accused—Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, and Cal Foote—face charges stemming from an alleged group sexual assault in a London hotel room on June 19, 2018. McLeod also faces an additional charge of being a party to the offense. All five, once celebrated as part of Canada’s gold-medal-winning 2018 world junior team, pleaded not guilty on April 22, when the trial kicked off with jury selection. The group, ranging in age from 25 to 27, includes former NHL players whose careers have since unraveled amid the legal storm.
The trial, expected to stretch eight weeks, barely got its skates on the ice. On Wednesday, April 23, Crown attorney Heather Donkers laid out the prosecution’s case, zeroing in on the issue of consent. She described a night that began with celebrations at a downtown London bar and ended in a hotel room at the Delta Armouries, where a woman, identified only as E.M. under a publication ban, alleges she was assaulted. Donkers told jurors E.M. felt “drunk, uncomfortable,” and went along with acts out of fear or expectation. The Crown’s first witness, a London Police Service detective, took the stand briefly before the trial hit a wall.
What derailed the proceedings remains under wraps. A publication ban shields the reasons for the mistrial, a standard move to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial. Justice Carroccia, addressing the jury on Friday, kept it short: “I’m sorry to have to tell you that I have declared a mistrial in this case. As a result, this jury is discharged.” The jurors, a mix of 11 women and three men chosen just three days earlier, filed out, their brief service over.
The case has gripped Canada since it surfaced in 2022, when news broke that Hockey Canada settled a $3.5-million lawsuit filed by E.M. against the organization, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed players. The settlement, first reported by TSN, sparked outrage, leading to parliamentary hearings, sponsor pullouts from brands like Tim Hortons, and the resignation of Hockey Canada’s CEO and board. London police, who closed an initial investigation in 2019 without charges, reopened the case in 2022 amid public pressure. In February 2024, Police Chief Thai Truong issued a rare apology to E.M. for the years-long delay in laying charges.
The accused were household names in hockey circles. McLeod and Foote played for the New Jersey Devils, Dubé for the Calgary Flames, and Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers when charges dropped in January 2024. Formenton, a former Ottawa Senator, was with a Swiss team. None are currently signed to NHL rosters, their contracts having expired last summer. McLeod and Dubé have since joined teams in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League, while Formenton has left hockey to work in construction in Barrie, Ont.
Jury selection for the new trial began Friday, with proceedings set to resume next week. The court has barred reporting on discussions held outside the jury’s presence, and a publication ban protects E.M.’s identity along with those of two witnesses. The trial’s outcome hinges on evidence yet to be tested, with E.M. expected to be the Crown’s key witness.