Nearly six years after a woman alleged she had been sexually assaulted by five then-members of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 world junior hockey team, the police chief of a southwestern Ontario city apologized Monday for how long it had taken for charges to be laid in the case, but offered no explanation for the delay.
London, Ont., police Chief Thai Truong said he could not reveal much about why the police investigation that began in 2018 was initially closed without charges in 2019, before being reopened three years later.
But Truong said he, on behalf of the force, was extending his B次元官网网址渟incerest apologyB次元官网网址� to the complainant and her family for the time it had taken for the case to reach its present point.
B次元官网网址淭his should not take this long,B次元官网网址� Truong said at a news conference Monday. B次元官网网址淚t shouldnB次元官网网址檛 take years and years for us to arrive to the outcome of today.B次元官网网址�
Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault last month. McLeod is also facing an additional charge of sexual assault for B次元官网网址渂eing a party to the offence.B次元官网网址�
Lawyers for the players have said their clients will defend themselves against the allegations.
MondayB次元官网网址檚 police update marked the first time the force has publicly addressed questions regarding its investigation into the allegations. The case, which also triggered investigations from Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League, has drawn scrutiny of how allegations of sexual assault are handled within sports organizations as well as law enforcement.
While the chiefB次元官网网址檚 apology was B次元官网网址渧ery important and symbolically significant,B次元官网网址� it was also B次元官网网址渧ery limited,B次元官网网址� said Melanie Randall, a law professor at Western University whose work focuses on womenB次元官网网址檚 autonomy rights and sexual violence against women.
Police do need to protect the integrity of criminal proceedings because their statements can be brought up at trial, she said. However, they also generally do B次元官网网址渁 lot of impression management,B次元官网网址� and tend to B次元官网网址渙bfuscate the specifics,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one thing to say, yeah, there was a problem, but if you donB次元官网网址檛 explain exactly what the problem was and why it was a problem, and what youB次元官网网址檙e doing about it, itB次元官网网址檚 kind of an inadequate response,B次元官网网址� Randall said.
Still, she said, itB次元官网网址檚 possible to draw inferences from the fact that police said Monday the officers who were initially investigating the allegations in 2018 are no longer involved in the case, and that the case wasnB次元官网网址檛 reviewed by the community-led committee meant to ensure such allegations arenB次元官网网址檛 inappropriately dismissed.
The violence against women advocate case review is a recently implemented system in which an independent third party, often victimsB次元官网网址� advocates or other experts, works with police and reviews sexual assault investigations where no charges have been laid.
Police said Monday they could not comment on why the case wasnB次元官网网址檛 referred to the committee after the investigation was closed. They said the committee cannot review the case now due to the court process.
The charges in the case relate to an alleged incident at a hotel in London in June 2018, after members of the world junior team celebrated a gold-medal win.
Police said some members of the team went, after a celebratory event, to a downtown London bar where they met the complainant in the case. The woman then went to a hotel with one of the accused, police said, and the four other accused went to the same hotel, where the alleged offences took place.
Police said someone related to the complainant called the force later that morning seeking advice regarding an alleged sexual assault.
Police later decided to review the investigation in July 2022. London Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann said Monday that officers found new evidence that helped lead to the charges.
B次元官网网址淯pon review of the occurrence, it was determined that there were additional steps that could be taken to advance the investigation,B次元官网网址� Dann said, adding that the complainant B次元官网网址渇ully participatedB次元官网网址� throughout the investigation.
B次元官网网址淥ur team explored investigative opportunities in addition to the 2018 investigation B次元官网网址� Additional witnesses were spoken to and we collected more evidence. I can confirm that some of this evidence was not available when the investigation concluded in 2019.B次元官网网址�
Truong said he had not spoken directly to the then-police chief about why a review of the case was ordered, but said he understood that B次元官网网址渋nformation came to light as a result of the community.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hy it took so long will form part of the proceedings, but it is completely inappropriate for me to talk about those details at this time,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭here will be a time where IB次元官网网址檒l be able to speak about the matter, but I cannot jeopardize the ongoing case.B次元官网网址�
Asked if he believed investigators would have handled the case differently had it not involved five hockey players celebrating a victory, the chief said he could not comment, but stressed the force is committed to improving how it responds to allegations of sexual violence.
Police on Monday also read out a statement from the legal representative for the complainant in the case.
B次元官网网址淚t takes an incredible amount of courage for any survivor of sexual assault to report to the police and participate in the criminal justice system. That is certainly true for E.M.,B次元官网网址� the statement said. B次元官网网址淵et she remains committed to see this process through.B次元官网网址�
Randall, the law professor, said the way the case has been handled is likely to exacerbate underreporting of sexual assaults.
B次元官网网址淎 sexual assault experience is typically a very distressing or even a traumatic experience, and then to have a protracted delay before even getting your so-called day in court only compounds the harm,B次元官网网址� she said, calling it a kind of B次元官网网址渋nstitutional failure.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t compounds the already existing perception that, you know, a report might not be taken as seriously as it should be, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be investigated as well.B次元官网网址�
The case had its first court hearing earlier Monday, where lawyers for the players appeared on their clientsB次元官网网址� behalf.
During the brief hearing, prosecutors sought and obtained an order protecting the identity of the complainant, which is standard in sexual assault cases, as well as that of two witnesses.
Assistant Crown attorney Heather Donkers also said the playersB次元官网网址� lawyers would receive B次元官网网址渟ubstantial disclosureB次元官网网址� in the next few days. Disclosure is the evidence collected by the prosecution against the accused.
The case will be back in court April 30.
Hockey Canada and the NHL, where four of the accused now play, had launched their own investigations into the case.
Hockey Canada acknowledged the charges Monday and said it has co-operated fully with the police investigation. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week the league would wait until the criminal case has concluded before commenting.
Dube plays for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a team in Switzerland. All have been permitted to go on indefinite leave.
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