E.M. testifies about night of alleged assaults at London hockey trial

Content advisory: This article includes allegations of sexual assault

London, Ont. - E.M., the now 27-year-old woman who has accused five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team of sexual assault, began testifying Friday afternoon, speaking in court for the first time about a criminal case that has sent shock waves through Canadian sport.

E.M. addressed the 14-person jury in London’s downtown courthouse by closed-circuit TV. At about 2:10 p.m. ET, she walked into the frame and sat behind a desk that had a bottle of water and a box of tissues on it.

Over the next two-and-a-half hours, E.M., whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified about how she met Michael McLeod and other members of the 2018 team at a downtown London bar on June 18, 2018.

McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote have been accused of sexually assaulting E.M. in London’s Delta Armouries hotel. McLeod faces a second sexual assault charge of being party to the offence. The players have all pleaded not guilty.

E.M. began her testimony by explaining that in the summer of 2018, she had started working at a new job and had made a plan to go out and dance with some of her co-workers.

She testified that she had two cans of Mike’s Hard Lemonade while getting ready at home and then took an Uber to Jack’s bar in downtown London, picking up a co-worker on the way.

Over the following several hours at Jack’s, E.M. testified that she met McLeod and his teammates and consumed one vodka soda, one beer, and at least eight shots – most of which were Jägerbombs, a mixture of Jägermeister and an energy drink.

E.M. said she remembered meeting a man at Jack’s who introduced her to someone she later learned was McLeod. Everyone called him “Mikey,” she testified.

E.M. testified that McLeod was among a group of young men who were dancing and moving through the bar together.

“They were all just hanging around together,” E.M. said. “Seemed close. They were dancing together all in a group on the dance floor, going back to the bar together, getting shots and drinks. Moving as a group, they were all familiar with each other."

"Prior to that night, did you know any of these guys that were part of this group?" Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham asked E.M.

"No, I didn't have any knowledge of them...” E.M. said. "Later on, I believe, still at the bar, I kind of pieced together that they played hockey together, but I didn’t know what level or anything like that. They had been speaking about maybe rings.”

E.M. testified that she and McLeod did shots and danced.

“I was feeling fine about him,” E.M. said. “I was attracted to him. He seemed interested in me. My interactions with him, I was feeling fine about.”

E.M. testified that there was an older man who was in his 30s buying drinks for the young men. The older man poured a shot into E.M.’s mouth at one point, she said.

“There was a point he was really starting to talk up Mikey,” E.M. testified. “Making comments like he’s a really great guy. ‘Take care of him’ was something he said… I think he was just trying to make Mikey sound like a good guy, someone I should pursue that night.”

As she continued drinking, E.M. became more drunk, she testified.

She said that she felt “sandwiched” on the dance floor between all the young men and found it strange that McLeod, who she had first danced with, didn’t have a problem with other men pulling her close and dancing with her.

“There was just a lot of uncomfortable touching,” E.M. testified, adding that some of the men positioned her hands on their crotches.

Cunningham asked E.M. what was going through her mind when the players did that.

“I’m thinking it’s a little awkward,” E.M. answered. “We’re in a public place. Lot of people around. Probably not obvious, but it felt a little off. Tried not to think anything of it. Go along with it.”

E.M. testified that her inhibitions “lowered the more I drank.”

“My vision was a little blurry,” she said. “Mentally, I just felt all over the place… Outwardly, it appeared that I was okay with it, but internally I felt it was odd and not something I would normally be doing at a bar.”

Cunningham showed E.M. a number of videos from Jack’s bar. One video showed McLeod and other young men with their arms around one another, standing in a circle around E.M. Another video showed one of the men dancing with E.M. pulling on her ponytail. Another showed a man picking her up and spinning her around while another showed one of the men slapping her buttocks.

E.M. testified that she did not remember any of those moments before watching the surveillance video. Cunningham asked if she remembered how she felt on the dance floor.

“Kind of uncomfortable and a little confused about what’s happening... but on the dance floor and trying to have fun,” E.M. testified. “It felt claustrophobic a little bit, but I’m really drunk at this point, dancing and going along with what’s going on.”

At one point, McLeod indicated to E.M. that he wanted to take her to his hotel, E.M. testified.

“I remember him coming to walk me out of the bar,” she testified. “He had been making comments about wanting to take me home that night and couldn’t wait to have fun with me... Throughout the night, it was probably shortly after meeting and having a few drinks, and dancing... it kind of just became apparent that was where the night was headed, that was his intentions, and I was okay with that."

A surveillance video played for E.M. showed her arriving at the Delta Armouries with McLeod at 1:47 a.m.

The Crown then asked to adjourn for the day. The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday.