Warning: This story contains graphic details and allegations of sexual assault
Court has concluded for the day in the sexual assault trial of five former Team Canada junior hockey players.
Just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Justice Maria Carroccia told the jury: “There are some things I need to discuss with the lawyers this afternoon, so I’m not going to keep you hanging around. So good news for you, you get the afternoon off.. so I’ll ask you to come back tomorrow morning.”
Steenbergen on the stand
Tyler Steenbergen was back on the stand in a London, Ont., courtroom in the sexual assault trial of five of his former Team Canada world junior hockey teammates.
Testifying virtually from Alberta, Steenbergen was asked to go through the order of events as he remembers them from the early morning hours of June 19, 2018.
He detailed entering room 209 and having a conversation with his teammate and roommate Jake Bean.
According to Steenbergen, Carter Hart received oral sex from the complainant in the case, known as E.M., Dillon Dube slapped the female on the buttocks, and Steenbergen said he didn’t recall hearing a noise from the slap. Michael McLeod was then given oral sex by the complainant.
Shortly after that, Cal Foote came into the room where Steenbergen said he partially saw Foote do the splits but he couldn’t see everything because there were people in front of him.
“I just remember seeing him, and then he went down, and I couldn’t see anything from there, because he‘s tall I could see his head, and then I couldn’t see it. And then it was he got back up... he left the room right after.”
Group chat before Hockey Canada investigation
In the days following June 19, 2018, members of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior hockey team were notified that there would be an internal investigation into the allegations.
A group chat from June 26, 2018, includes messages about the alleged incidents in room 209, consent, the players encouraging each other to tell the truth, and whether they should seek legal advice or tell their agents.
A text from McLeod’s phone reads: “We all need to say the same thing if we get interviewed [by Hockey Canada], can’t have different stories or make anything up.”
“I did have sex with her before everybody came in, you guys know that part right?” added McLeod.
“She‘s the one who got naked and started begging everyone,” responded teammate Brett Howden.
“No boys, like you don’t need to make anything up. No one did anything wrong. We went to that room to eat. The girl came. She wanted to have sex with all of us. No one did. She gave a few guys head. And then we got out of the room, and things got too crazy,” added Bean.
“What should I say if they ask why I took the [consent] videos, though?” asked McLeod.
Bean responded with: “You took the videos because you wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen and cover yourself.”
Later on in the thread, Dube said: “Let‘s not make her sound like, too crazy, because if she gets wind of this and then she can get even more angry. And we don’t need that. So just be good about it, but the truth with it.”
Teammate Max Comtois responded: “The truth is we didn’t do anything stupid. We had her consent. We didn’t force her to do anything.”
After having a text conversation with the complainant, McLeod shared with the group that: “It wasn’t her that went to the police. It was her mom. No idea why, but she already told me she told the police that she doesn’t want to pursue this and it was a mistake. She also texted me saying ‘Sorry about all this,’ and that she was in the wrong, too. I have his text saved.”
Dube responded with: “But the boys who did stuff got consent, so it‘s okay.”
McLeod then told the group: “But like if you were in the room, don’t lie and say you weren’t.”
“Nobody forced her to do anything,” said Howden. “She was begging for anyone to bang her.”
When asked for his interpretation of the text conversation, Steenbergen told the court: “Just that, yeah, when we were in the room, it seemed like she wanted it, and the guys said they had consent. So I thought it was all good too.”
“Honestly boys, nobody did anything wrong... we got consent for anything that she did. She was the one begging for guys to bang her,” said Hart in the group chat.
Background
Court previously heard that E.M. was heard crying in the shower after she got home on June 19, 2018.
Her mom went to check on her where E.M. said she revealed that she had been assaulted in a hotel room.
E.M.‘s mother was the one who contacted police and her mother‘s boyfriend contacted Hockey Canada.
The five accused have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in connection with an encounter that took place in a London, Ont., hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
The complainant, who spent nine days on the stand via CCTV, has said she was naked and drunk when men started coming into the room where she‘d just had sex with McLeod — an encounter that‘s not part of the trial.
She said while no one physically forced her to engage in sexual acts, she was scared and felt she had no choice but to go along with what the men in the room wanted her to do.
The defence, meanwhile, has suggested the woman asked McLeod to invite his friends over and then urged the men to have sex with her.
- Here’s a recap of week two
- Day 11: Defence suggests complainant was ‘taunting and threatening’ former junior hockey players during sexual assault trial
- Day 12: Defence’s ‘splits’ argument draws strong reaction from complainant in hockey player sexual assault cross-examination
- Day 13: ‘Guys, there’s a naked girl’: Tyler Steenbergen recounts night of alleged assault in junior hockey player sexual assault trial
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety, you should call 911.
A full list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling can be found on the website for Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada.
Helplines, legal services and locations that offer sexual assault kits in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia can be found here.
National Residential School Crisis Line: +1 866 925 4419
24-hour crisis line: 416 597 8808
Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: +1 833 900 1010
Trans Lifeline: +1 877 330 6366
Sexual misconduct support for current or former members of the Armed Forces: +1 844 750 1648
Read about your rights as a victim here.
