Judge rules text messages cannot currently be admitted in London Hockey Trial

An Ontario judge has ruled that texts sent by a former member of Canada's world junior hockey team cannot currently be admitted at the sexual assault trial of five of his ex-teammates.

Brett Howden faced questions Thursday in a voir dire — essentially a trial within a trial — over a text conversation he had with another then-teammate, Taylor Raddysh, on June 26, 2018.

In the exchange, Howden describes some parts of the June 19, 2018 encounter at the heart of the trial, including a moment when he says one of the accused, Dillon Dube, slapped the complainant on the buttocks.

The Crown sought to introduce the messages related to the slap as a "past recollection recorded" — a prior statement captured in some form — due to Howden's lack of memory on certain details of the events, even after reviewing his previous statements.

Part of the test to admit a recorded recollection as evidence is establishing whether the witness can vouch for its truthfulness, and Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia says Howden didn't meet that threshold.

Dube, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.

The Crown says it will seek to have the texts admitted through the principled exception to hearsay, a mechanism through which hearsay evidence can be admitted if it is deemed necessary and reliable.

Defence lawyers for the players are opposing the application.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.