Warning: This story contains graphic details and allegations of sexual assault
Brett Howden is expected to be back on the stand Wednesday morning as a Crown witness in the sexual assault trial of five former members of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior hockey team.
Court ended Tuesday with Justice Maria Carroccia dismissing Howden for the day while legal arguments took place.
Before Howden left, Crown Attorney Meaghan Cunningham told the court she now wishes to question him about “inconsistencies” in his testimony, saying, “There are a number of areas that I wish to explore as part of this application. I think we are upwards of 15 [inconsistencies] at this point.”
Howden’s Tuesday testimony
Earlier in the day, Howden was asked to read a message out loud to the court from a 2018 text chain between members of the team after they found out Hockey Canada was looking into allegations of sexual assault.
“Can you just read that message out loud for us, please?” said Cunningham.
“Yeah, nobody forced her [the complainant, E.M.] to do anything, if anything, we should put allegations on her. F--k,” Howden said to the group chat.
“What did you mean by put allegations on her?” asked Cunningham.
Howden responded: “You know, during all this, I think there was some anger that was coming across because, you know, in that situation, I felt like she was the one initiating everything, and she was the one that, you know, put us in that situation. So, I felt like it was, you know, I don’t even know if I’m using the right terms that are putting the allegations on her, but it’s just more so, anger, that she was trying to say those things were the other way.”
“What did you mean by the word allegations? What did that word mean to you at that time,” Cunningham asked Howden.
He responded: “Trying to say that she was the one that started all that, that she was the one that put us in that situation. Because there was, you know, nothing brought up [about sexual activity] until she started calling out guys and started saying all these things to everybody.”
Howden, who is not accuse of any wrongoing, also said he remembered getting calls from Dillon Dube and Cal Foote, being asked to leave their names out of thing — Dube is accused of spanking E.M. and Foote is accused of doing the splits over her face.
In his interview with Hockey Canada investigator Danielle Robitaille, Howden said he didn’t bring up the alleged incidents because he was asked not to.
“Can you help us understand why you didn’t bring that up?” asked Cunningham.
“Because I was, I was asked not to, just to, not to bring him up,” he responded.
Howden arriving to room 209
Howden also told the court his room was next door to room 209 where the alleged assault happened.
He said when he got back to the Delta hotel in London, Ont., around 2:40 a.m. on June 19, 2018, he went to his room to see if his roommate (Taylor Raddysh) wanted any food, then recalled going to room 209, Michael McLeod’s room, where he read food pamphlets, looking for something to order.
When asked by Cunningham if there was anyone else in the room other than his teammates, Howden said yes, there was a woman there - he recognized her from the bar.
“I just remember being surprised that she [E.M.] was there, just didn’t even really know how she got back there or why she was there, yeah, just kind of surprised to see her in there,” said Howden.
He also described the woman as “flirty,” seeing which guy would engage with her.
“What she was saying or doing that makes you describe her as trying to be flirty,” asked Cunningham.
Howden responded: “I think just the way she was acting the way she was approaching guys... I don’t remember exactly what was said, word by word, but I just remember things started to escalate quickly and it kind of got our attention, and that’s when she started asking guys or anybody for basically any sexual act that she wanted that if anybody would participate with her... I would say chirping guys, kind of taunting everyone and kind of egging everybody on, because nobody was taking her up on what she was wanting.”
“What is it that you saw or heard that makes you describe it as chirping or taunting?” questioned Cunningham.
“I remember her calling guys pu---es for not engaging with her. I remember her just not stopping when nobody was taking her up on it.”
Howden was on the stand virtually on Tuesday from Las Vegas, NV, where he currently plays for the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL.
E.M. previously testified that the men in the room were “objectifying her.”
She said, “They were literally in there laughing at me. They could have let me leave if they weren’t in there for me, or they could have left. They didn’t need to be in the room. Literally any one of those men could have stood up and said, ‘This isn’t right.’ No one did...They thought I was fair game.”
Steenbergen testimony wraps up
Tyler Steenbergen has finished giving his testimony at the sexual assault trial of five of his ex-teammates who played for the 2018 Team Canada World Junior hockey team.
While being re-examined by the prosecution on Tuesday morning, he told the court in London, Ont., that the complainant, known as E.M., “seemed into it.”
When asked: ‘What did you see or hear that makes you say, that’s how it seemed?"
Steenbergen responded: “She was on the floor masturbating and asking guys to come and f--k her. So then it just made it seem like she was into it the whole time. It didn’t seem like, I wasn’t worried about her in any way. It just seemed like she wanted to do stuff.”
In his re-examination by the Crown, Steenbergen was also asked about the oral sex between E.M. and Carter Hart.
He told the court he remembered that Hart did not ejaculate during oral sex and that it ended when Hart stopped it.
Assistant Crown Attorney Heather Donkers asked: “Were you watching the oral sex with Mr. Hart at the moment that it ended?”
“Yes, I believe I was,” Steenbergen responded.
Donkers followed up with: “So what’s your memory about how it ended?”
“Like there was awkward laugh, and I feel like he didn’t want to be a part of that anymore... like I said before it was 30 seconds to a minute. It wasn’t very long. So for oral sex, if you want it longer, I feel like he could have but he didn’t want to anymore.”
Steenbergen, who is no longer playing hockey and lives in Sylvan Lake, Alt., began testifying by video conference last week. He said he was one of several players in the hotel room at one point in the night but he left after a short time.
WEEK 3: Here‘s recap of the junior hockey sexual assault trial
Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Hart and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in connection with an encounter that took place 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.
Steenbergen has said he was one of several players in the hotel room at one point in the night but he left after a short time.
The jury hearing the case was discharged last Friday and the trial is now continuing with a judge alone.
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.
