Former NHL player charged with sexual assault in Canada
A former National Hockey League player has been charged in Canada with sexual assault, his lawyer has confirmed. This is the latest development in a case that has caused unrest within the sport's Canadian governing body and angered many people across the country.
Four more players are expected to turn themselves in to police in London, Ontario, in the coming days report in The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based newspaper.
“London police have charged several players, including Alex Formenton, in connection with a 2018 allegation,” Dan Brown, Mr. Formenton's attorney, said in an emailed statement. “Alex will vigorously defend his innocence and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all the evidence.”
Mr Brown's statement did not specify what his client was accused of.
After playing for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL, the 24-year-old Formenton moved to Switzerland to play for a professional team, Hockey Club Ambri-Piotta. The club, in a rack said last Wednesday that Mr. Formenton would be allowed to return to Canada on indefinite leave for personal reasons.
The sexual assault allegation was reported to police in 2018, when the players were members of Canada's junior national team, and has created a firestorm over the years, even in a sport with a long history of similar allegations.
It led to a clean sweep of the board and leadership of Hockey Canada, the sport's national governing body, caused an exodus of sponsors, cut off government funding for the sport, prompted a parliamentary inquiry and prompted scathing rebukes from the public and of political figures. , including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
As members of the national junior team, the accused players won the 2018 World Junior Championships. Their high profile strengthened the public response to the allegations of abuse. The Junior Championships are a TV viewing ritual in Canada that is second only to the Stanley Cup playoffs in television audiences among annual sporting events.
The woman who made the accusation reported that she was sexually assaulted in June 2018, following a Hockey Canada fundraising gala in London, Ontario. Police in the city initially investigated the allegation in 2018, but dropped that investigation in 2019 without filing any charges.
The commotion died down until May 2022, when TSN, a sports television network, reported that Hockey Canada paid 3.5 million Canadian dollars, or $2.6 million. settle a lawsuit of the woman, identified in the lawsuits as “EM”
She said in the April 2022 lawsuit that the episode occurred after she was introduced to the men at a bar and that she was sexually assaulted by eight team members for several hours after the 2018 gala. It is unclear whether the other accused team members will face criminal charges.
Public outrage was further fueled after The Globe and Mail reported in July 2022 that the settlement had been reached cash came from a fund generated from hockey registration fees, including those for children.
The fund, Hockey Canada acknowledged, had been used to pay an additional 7.6 million Canadian dollars, or $5.65 million, to settle nine claims of sexual assault and battery since 1989. In 2022, further allegations of sexual abuse emerged involving a 2003 national junior team.
London police resumed their investigation in 2022, following the lawsuit settlement report.
Hockey Canada and the NHL have also each conducted investigations but have not yet released their findings.
In a post onThe Canadians were outraged and shocked to see this story and others like it. It is pleasing to see this process moving forward.”
She added: “We are all looking forward to justice being done. Victims must be heard.”
Miles Bolton contributed reporting from London, Ontario.