Nearly six years after a woman alleged she had been sexually assaulted by five then-members of Canada害羞草研究所檚 world junior hockey team, the police chief of a southwestern Ontario city apologized Monday for how long it had taken for charges to be laid in the case, but offered no explanation for the delay.
London, Ont., police Chief Thai Truong said he could not reveal much about why the police investigation that began in 2018 was initially closed without charges in 2019, before being reopened three years later.
But Truong said he, on behalf of the force, was extending his 害羞草研究所渟incerest apology害羞草研究所� to the complainant and her family for the time it had taken for the case to reach its present point.
害羞草研究所淭his should not take this long,害羞草研究所� Truong said at a news conference Monday. 害羞草研究所淚t shouldn害羞草研究所檛 take years and years for us to arrive to the outcome of today.害羞草研究所�
Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault last month. McLeod is also facing an additional charge of sexual assault for 害羞草研究所渂eing a party to the offence.害羞草研究所�
Lawyers for the players have said their clients will defend themselves against the allegations.
Monday害羞草研究所檚 police update marked the first time the force has publicly addressed questions regarding its investigation into the allegations. The case, which also triggered investigations from Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League, has drawn scrutiny of how allegations of sexual assault are handled within sports organizations as well as law enforcement.
While the chief害羞草研究所檚 apology was 害羞草研究所渧ery important and symbolically significant,害羞草研究所� it was also 害羞草研究所渧ery limited,害羞草研究所� said Melanie Randall, a law professor at Western University whose work focuses on women害羞草研究所檚 autonomy rights and sexual violence against women.
Police do need to protect the integrity of criminal proceedings because their statements can be brought up at trial, she said. However, they also generally do 害羞草研究所渁 lot of impression management,害羞草研究所� and tend to 害羞草研究所渙bfuscate the specifics,害羞草研究所� she said.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 one thing to say, yeah, there was a problem, but if you don害羞草研究所檛 explain exactly what the problem was and why it was a problem, and what you害羞草研究所檙e doing about it, it害羞草研究所檚 kind of an inadequate response,害羞草研究所� Randall said.
Still, she said, it害羞草研究所檚 possible to draw inferences from the fact that police said Monday the officers who were initially investigating the allegations in 2018 are no longer involved in the case, and that the case wasn害羞草研究所檛 reviewed by the community-led committee meant to ensure such allegations aren害羞草研究所檛 inappropriately dismissed.
The violence against women advocate case review is a recently implemented system in which an independent third party, often victims害羞草研究所� advocates or other experts, works with police and reviews sexual assault investigations where no charges have been laid.
Police said Monday they could not comment on why the case wasn害羞草研究所檛 referred to the committee after the investigation was closed. They said the committee cannot review the case now due to the court process.
The charges in the case relate to an alleged incident at a hotel in London in June 2018, after members of the world junior team celebrated a gold-medal win.
Police said some members of the team went, after a celebratory event, to a downtown London bar where they met the complainant in the case. The woman then went to a hotel with one of the accused, police said, and the four other accused went to the same hotel, where the alleged offences took place.
Police said someone related to the complainant called the force later that morning seeking advice regarding an alleged sexual assault.
Police later decided to review the investigation in July 2022. London Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann said Monday that officers found new evidence that helped lead to the charges.
害羞草研究所淯pon review of the occurrence, it was determined that there were additional steps that could be taken to advance the investigation,害羞草研究所� Dann said, adding that the complainant 害羞草研究所渇ully participated害羞草研究所� throughout the investigation.
害羞草研究所淥ur team explored investigative opportunities in addition to the 2018 investigation 害羞草研究所� Additional witnesses were spoken to and we collected more evidence. I can confirm that some of this evidence was not available when the investigation concluded in 2019.害羞草研究所�
Truong said he had not spoken directly to the then-police chief about why a review of the case was ordered, but said he understood that 害羞草研究所渋nformation came to light as a result of the community.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淲hy it took so long will form part of the proceedings, but it is completely inappropriate for me to talk about those details at this time,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭here will be a time where I害羞草研究所檒l be able to speak about the matter, but I cannot jeopardize the ongoing case.害羞草研究所�
Asked if he believed investigators would have handled the case differently had it not involved five hockey players celebrating a victory, the chief said he could not comment, but stressed the force is committed to improving how it responds to allegations of sexual violence.
Police on Monday also read out a statement from the legal representative for the complainant in the case.
害羞草研究所淚t takes an incredible amount of courage for any survivor of sexual assault to report to the police and participate in the criminal justice system. That is certainly true for E.M.,害羞草研究所� the statement said. 害羞草研究所淵et she remains committed to see this process through.害羞草研究所�
Randall, the law professor, said the way the case has been handled is likely to exacerbate underreporting of sexual assaults.
害羞草研究所淎 sexual assault experience is typically a very distressing or even a traumatic experience, and then to have a protracted delay before even getting your so-called day in court only compounds the harm,害羞草研究所� she said, calling it a kind of 害羞草研究所渋nstitutional failure.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚t compounds the already existing perception that, you know, a report might not be taken as seriously as it should be, it won害羞草研究所檛 be investigated as well.害羞草研究所�
The case had its first court hearing earlier Monday, where lawyers for the players appeared on their clients害羞草研究所� behalf.
During the brief hearing, prosecutors sought and obtained an order protecting the identity of the complainant, which is standard in sexual assault cases, as well as that of two witnesses.
Assistant Crown attorney Heather Donkers also said the players害羞草研究所� lawyers would receive 害羞草研究所渟ubstantial disclosure害羞草研究所� in the next few days. Disclosure is the evidence collected by the prosecution against the accused.
The case will be back in court April 30.
Hockey Canada and the NHL, where four of the accused now play, had launched their own investigations into the case.
Hockey Canada acknowledged the charges Monday and said it has co-operated fully with the police investigation. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week the league would wait until the criminal case has concluded before commenting.
Dube plays for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a team in Switzerland. All have been permitted to go on indefinite leave.
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