Hockey Canada sexual assault case: Mistrial declared in proceedings involving Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, and other ex-NHLers

The Hockey Canada sexual assault case has been declared a mistrial. This comes just two days after attorneys made opening statements and three days after the large 14-person jury was selected. The 11 women and three men were sent home on Friday after the ruling.

Justice Maria Carroccia said after adjourning court early on Wednesday, via The Athletic:

“Something happened over the lunch hour that I need to think about and to discuss with the lawyers.”

The judge also told the jurors not to discuss the case. A publication ban prevents the media from knowing what drove the mistrial, but they will select a new 14-person jury today.

Insider Rick Westhead confirmed the ban, saying that he and other media members can report on it being declared a mistrial but cannot publish any details about the judge's decision.

Right now, there is a media consortium challenging so that the details can be published by media outlets, but it remains to be seen how successful that will be. He also noted that "a mistrial is a trial that is not successfully completed due to a significant error or problem that prevents a fair verdict from being reached," which could be any number of things.

The trial features former NHL players Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, and Cal Foote. Each player is facing sexual assault charges stemming from a June 2018 alleged incident.

---

What is the Hockey Canada sexual assault case alleging?

The Hockey Canada sexual assault case alleges that five NHL players who have since been cut and are no longer actively playing sexually assaulted a woman in London in 2018.

The assault trial was deemed a mistrial (Imagn)

The players were celebrating their 2018 World Juniors Championship and allegedly assaulted a woman whom one player met at the bar. They connected, and she said that she made it back to his hotel room, where eight Hockey Canada players assaulted her several times.

The organization was made aware of the allegations the next morning, and the police were told by evening that day. Hockey Canada ended up paying the woman an undisclosed amount of money for a legal issue she pushed. The players pleaded not guilty when arraigned on Tuesday.