WARNING: This article includes graphic details of alleged sexual assault and can affect those who have experienced sexual violence or knowing someone affected by it.
Regardless of the result of the sexual aggression trial for five former world players of Junior Hockey, the problems posed, about the culture of hockey, consent and how the legal system manages such complaints, will be discussed long after the judge delivers his decisions on Thursday in London, Ont., He will suggest legal experts and defenders.
It is expected that the judge of the Superior Court, Maria Carroccia, will give long reasons for its decisions after the eight -week trial that was involved in mid -June. Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Footo and Michael McLeod declared innocent. The case focuses on a woman, known in the Court as EM due to a standard publication prohibition, who testified that she was sexually assaulted for several hours at a London hotel in June 2018.
The decisions will be “only a part of a much bigger story and saga around the lives that are involved in this particular case, but also how we deal with sexual assault in the criminal justice system, and how we deal with sexual assault in sport and in society in general,” said Melanie Randall, a law professor at the Western University of London.
“The case is really important and significant because it shows a relief marked so many bigger problems.”
Carroccia will explain the legal reasoning for its verdict, something that would not happen if the jurors decided the result because the jury’s deliberations are private in Canada, Randall said.
“I am very happy that it is a judge because we will hear it articulate a justification of why he found what he did, and that is very, very important.”
Each of the five accused men, who passed to the NHL races at one time, has been accused of a position of sexual assault. McLeod is the only one who faces another position, of being a party in the crime, for allegedly inviting his teammates to his hotel room for sexual acts with them without their knowledge or permission.
The case is ‘an onion’ with many layers
Brandon Trask, a professor of associate law at the University of Manitoba, describes the case as “an onion” with many layers, from the criminal to society.
“Even if the result is that no one is convicted, I do not think that any of the defendants are proud of their actions,” Trask said.
“This should be quite revealing for everyone about culture in relation to hockey. Collectively we must say as a society, ‘we will not accept this.’ It does not depend on whether this is, ultimately, criminal behaviors or not.
“Determining if something is good or bad is not the same as determining whether something is criminal or non -criminal. It can have a horrible behavior that is not demonstrated that it is criminal beyond a reasonable doubt, but it is still a horrible behavior.”
During the trial, which began in early April, five defense teams interrogated in an effort to ask questions about their credibility and reliability while testifying for nine days. There was also a null trial and two jurors were downloaded.
“Shows how incredibly challenging it is to process cases of sexual assault,” Randall said.
The judgments are a “uphill battle for the plaintiffs of sexual aggression”, who face a system that “vigorously protects the rights of the accused,” he said.
“It is a challenge with an adversary system. It is really polarizing and all or nothing, and creates resistance to any type of responsibility.”
Some have suggested to create a process in which the defendant begins by recognizing irregularities, a “radical change” of the current justice system, Randall added.
Concerns about ‘consent videos’
In the opening statements, the prosecutor of the crown Meaghan Cunningham emphasized that the case depends on what is and is not consent.
Among the agreed events is that EM initially had sexual relations with McLeod after a night of drinking in Jack’s Bar.
Em, however, testified that McLeod’s teammates ended up appearing in her hotel room while she was naked, and she wasn’t alerted to that. She said she went with what men wanted after putting a sheet on the ground and asked her to touch sexually because she was afraid, and that her mind separated from her body.
The sexual aggression trial of five former world players of Hockey Junior extended for three months in London, Ontario, before finally came to an end with the last witness. Katie Nicholson de CBC breaks down some of the key moments and testimony.
EM, who was 20 years old in June 2018, also testified that he did not consented to the various sexual encounters, including oral sex, vaginal sex, buttocks and divisions that were supposedly made on his face while he was naked.
According to the defense, Em aggressively prompted men, asking them to have sex with her and pursue them when they did not do it quick enough. McLeod recorded two videos after the sexual encounters in which EM is seen saying that she consented.
However, EM testified that he did not remember the videos, and legally, they are “almost useless,” said Trask, “because consent must be contemporary with the actions that took place.”
Conversations about consent and toxic masculinity began a long time ago, but they were “revitalized” and “intensified” by the case widely followed, Randall said.
“It really shows some of the gender dynamics that are still lives and well in these types of situations, and also the complex psychology of how people respond when they feel threatened and scared.”
Call for more education
Almost daily during the trial procedures, EM supporters announced their presence outside the London court. But the case also attracted some people who supported the accused men.
Even so, the trial showed that some young people do not understand the dynamics and consent of power, said Katreena Scott, academic director of the Center for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children of the University West of London.
“It was a group of young men and a young woman. We have a situation in which we have a group of young men who used a young woman essentially as a sexual object,” Scott said. “What should we do to create healthier sexual norms and relations between young men and women? This judgment for me is also treated, how does a respectful sexual relationship look? ‘”
The Canada hockey was scrutiny after the world accusations of Hockey Junior emerged for the first time, as Rick Westhead of TSN first reported it in 2022. The Hockey Organization had an established fund, using registration fees throughout the country, to pay the sexual assault settlements, including one for EM after the police after the police closed the initial criminal investigation.
“This is a group of young men who know each other, who have a shared bond, who have important relationships with each other,” said Scott.
“They have influence from each other and also the ability of any of them to say: ‘Wait. Stop. I don’t know if this is fine.’ What kind of education are obtaining and what kind of standards are happening that they entitle young men to feel that when they are part of a sports organization and have this state, they have certain expectations”?
It is expected that body begins to read your decisions from 10 am et.
