Jury shown videos, group chat texts at London hockey trial

Content advisory: This article includes allegations of sexual assault.

London, Ont. - The third day of the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team began with the jury being shown a number of surveillance videos, videos and portions of group chat texts obtained from player cell phones, and photos taken by police officers investigating the incident.

Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote are charged with sexually assaulting a woman who is identified in court documents as E.M. in June 2018 at a London hotel following a Hockey Canada golf and gala event. McLeod faces a second sexual assault charge as a party to the offence.

The players have all pleaded not guilty.

As assistant Crown attorney Heather Donkers showed the jury the exhibits and entered them as evidence in the case, London police officer Det. Tiffany Waque described each of the videos and photos.

In one Delta Armouries Hotel surveillance video, McLeod was shown at 2:57 a.m. on June 19, 2018 picking up what appears to be a food delivery in the lobby.

The jury was also shown a video obtained from McLeod’s phone that was recorded at 3:25 a.m. on the same day. In the video, E.M. was asked by a male who is off camera, “You’re okay with this, right? You’re okay with this?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” E.M. responded.

In another video that was obtained from McLeod’s phone, E.M. was shown at 4:26 a.m. with her torso covered by a towel.

“This was all consensual,” E.M. said. “I enjoyed it. Are you filming this? You are so paranoid. I’m so sober — that’s why I can’t do this right now."

One surveillance video filmed at 4:47 a.m. showed E.M. leaving the hotel. An Uber receipt entered as evidence said she arrived at home at 5:08 a.m.

The jury was also shown portions of a group chat between players the night of the incident.

“rippers anyone?” one message read. Neither Waque nor Donkers identified who sent the text.

Later, the jury was shown a text from McLeod that said, “Who wants to be in a 3 way quick” and was signed “209- mikey.”

“I’m in,” someone using Hart’s phone responded.

Donkers told the jury they would have the opportunity during the trial to review a number of text messages some of the Team Canada players sent to one another after the incident.

One group chat that was provided to police by Team Canada players Drake Batherson and Tyler Steenbergen, dated June 26, 2018, included 11 players, the jury was told. The players on the chat were Hart, Foote, Dube, McLeod, Formenton, Batherson, Steenbergen, Jake Bean, Maxime Comtois, Brett Howden, and Sam Steel.

Donkers also introduced as evidence a screenshot of a June 19, 2018, group chat that was provided to police by Batherson. The jury was not told which players were in that chat.

After Waque finished testifying, she was cross-examined by Daniel Brown, who is Formenton’s lawyer.

Waque, who was one of the London police’s lead investigators in 2022, said she never asked staff or owners of Jack’s how much alcohol might be in the shots they served. That would have been helpful for police to understand how much alcohol E.M. consumed that night, Brown said.