(Newsworthy.news) – On January 30, the attorneys for four NHL players said that their clients had been charged in London, Ontario, by police concerning an inquiry into allegations of molestation and assault by teammates from Canada’s 2018 World Junior squad.
Media reports revealed Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, Cal Foote and Mike McLeod of the New Jersey Devils, and Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, were included in the charges.
Former National Hockey League player Alex Formenton of the Swiss National League team HC Ambri-Piotta was accused on January 28.
Not long ago, the players took a break from their clubs.
The allegations stem from an alleged June 2018 group assault on a woman that took place after a Hockey Canada event honoring the junior squad for their global junior championship gold medal triumph.
Riaz Sayani and Megan Savard, Hart’s attorneys, released a statement stating that their client is innocent and will respond fully to the baseless accusation in a court of law.
Attorneys for Dube, McLeod, and Foote have announced pleas of not guilty
After approving Dube’s request for a mental health leave on January 21, the Flames issued a statement saying they were unaware of the pending accusations.
More information will likely be released during a press conference that the London Police Service has scheduled on February 5th.
When word got out in May 2022 about the alleged assault and the following outside-of-court settlement that was funded by player registration fees, Hockey Canada, the national governing body of the sport, came under criticism.
A report shows that in the wake of the controversy, many prominent Canadian businesses suspended or ended their sponsorship of Hockey Canada, and the federal government of Canada froze the organization’s budget for ten months.
Pascale St-Onge, Canada’s federal minister of sport, said in April 2023 that the decision to cut financing to Hockey Canada was never meant to be permanent. It was done so that the correct change might occur inside the organization.
In the wake of the incident, Hockey Canada’s board of directors and chief executive officer resigned, and the organization said it would stop using player fees for registration to pay out sexual assault claims.
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