Michael McLeod invited world junior teammates to room: Crown

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Editor’s observe: This story accommodates particulars about sexual acts that could be disturbing to some readers.

The textual content message went out to the boys on the staff like a bat-signal to come back to Michael McLeod’s room.

“Who needs to be in a three-way fast Room 209, (signed) Mikey,” was the group chat message to the younger males on the 2018 Group Canada world junior hockey championship squad who had been staying at London’s Delta Armouries resort for a Hockey Canada gala on June 18 and 19, 2018.

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That message, the Crown mentioned on the Superior Court docket jury trial of 5 gamers from the staff, set off a collection of occasions inside that resort room which might be on the coronary heart of the case towards them.

However so is the regulation surrounding consent, mentioned assistant Crown lawyer Heather Donkers within the Crown’s opening assertion. What Donkers instructed the jury was not proof however a roadmap of what they will anticipate through the coming weeks on the extremely anticipated trial that started in earnest Wednesday.

“It is a case about consent and equally as necessary, this can be a case about what is just not consent,” she mentioned, earlier than describing what occurred earlier than, throughout and after an evening of intercourse involving a then-20-year-old lady and members of the staff, all of whom went on to careers within the Nationwide Hockey League.

McLeod, 27, is charged with sexual assault and sexual assault by being a celebration to the offence. Alex Formenton, 25, a former London Knight, Cal Foote, 26, Dillon Dube, 26, and Carter Hart, 26, are all charged with sexual assault.

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All 5 males have pleaded not responsible on the trial in London that has garnered huge media consideration.

Donkers instructed the jury the complainant, whose identification is protected by courtroom order, was out with associates at Jack’s Bar on Richmond Row on June 18 and 19, 2018. On the similar time, a gaggle of world junior champs, who had been on the town for the Hockey Canada gala, determined to maintain the occasion going by heading to the bar.

A number of of them approached the complainant and began chatting together with her. She was separated from her group and commenced dancing with McLeod. The jury is predicted to see video of the Jack’s dance flooring and that McLeod and Dube had been among the many gamers who “surrounded” her.

The complainant is predicted to inform the jury she had eight drinks whereas on the bar, and others had been consuming too. Simply after 1:20 a.m., she went with McLeod again to the resort the place that they had consensual intercourse. “This primary act of sexual activity is just not the topic of this trial,” Donkers mentioned.

However “quickly after that sexual act ended, the environment modified,” Donkers mentioned.

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Donkers mentioned they anticipate the complainant to testify she noticed McLeod on his telephone and believed he was messaging folks. The jury will see these messages, together with the one summoning the staff to the room for sexual exercise.

Whereas the complainant was bare below the covers, McLeod went into the hallway and invited others into the room. “Earlier than lengthy, increasingly males started arriving in Room 209,” Donkers mentioned. “There have been as much as 10 males contained in the standard-sized resort room.”

Donkers mentioned they anticipate the complainant will inform the jury “she felt drunk, stunned by what was taking place, and was unsure the way to react.”

Different witnesses, Donkers mentioned, will describe what occurred. The complainant was bare whereas the boys had been clothed and there was plenty of sexual exercise.

“You’ll hear from some witnesses that at completely different factors of the evening, (the complainant) was providing to carry out sexual acts, or was asking, whether or not anybody was going to have intercourse together with her,” Donkers mentioned.

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“And you’ll hear from (the complainant) that all through the evening, she was going together with what the boys within the room wished – what she felt they anticipated of her – as a result of she was drunk, uncomfortable, and he or she didn’t know what would occur if she did anything,” Donkers mentioned.

Every of the 5 accused had sexual contact with the complainant, the Crown mentioned, ”with out a voluntary settlement to the precise acts that happened.” McLeod, Hart and Dube obtained oral intercourse. Dube slapped her whereas she “engaged in a sexual act with another person.”

Formenton had vaginal intercourse together with her within the rest room. Foote did the splits over her face as she lay on the ground “grazing his genitals over her face,” Donkers mentioned.

McLeod, on the finish of the evening, “sexually assaulted her as soon as extra by vaginally penetrating her with out her consent,” Donkers mentioned.

McLeod’s second cost pertains to the anticipated proof he “assisted and inspired his teammates to have interaction sexually with (the complainant), figuring out she had not consented,” the Crown mentioned.

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“The Crown anticipates you’ll not hear from (the complainant) that she mentioned no to the precise sexual acts that represent sexual assault, nor that she was bodily resisting,” Donkers mentioned.

“However we anticipate we are going to hear (the complainant) testify that when she was on this resort room at age 20, intoxicated, and a gaggle of huge males that she didn’t know had been talking to one another as if she weren’t there, and so they began telling her to do sure issues, she didn’t really feel that she had a alternative within the matter.”

Donkers mentioned the complainant tried to go away the room however the males “coaxed her in to remain. And he or she discovered herself going by the motions simply making an attempt to get by the evening by doing and saying what she believed they wished.”

And the boys didn’t get consent however “as a substitute, they simply did what they wished,” Donkers mentioned.

On the finish of the evening, McLeod recorded two temporary movies the place the complainant “made broad statements” similar to “it was all consensual.”

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The Crown expects to argue the movies aren’t proof of consent to the acts associated to the fees. “Pay shut consideration not solely to what was mentioned on this video, but additionally what was not mentioned,” Donkers instructed the jury. She mentioned Justice Maria Carroccia “will instruct you that consent have to be given for every sexual act on the time that it’s taking place.”

The complainant left the resort “in tears,” referred to as a good friend, went house “and cried within the bathe,” Donkers mentioned.

The police had been contacted, Donkers mentioned, and McLeod despatched a textual content message to the complainant that mentioned: “What are you able to do to make this go away?” There have been different messages between the gamers  in a gaggle chat about what occurred “and about ensuring all of them mentioned the identical factor to investigators,” Donkers mentioned.

There have been telephone calls from Dube and Foote to others asking them to go away out particulars of what they did once they spoke to investigators.

“There could also be moments on this trial whenever you really feel it’s tough to place your self in (her) footwear and perceive what she’s pondering and doing when confronted with the surprising scenario within the resort room,” Donkers mentioned.

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“However that brings us again to one of many factors that we began with. This case is just not about the way you consider you’d act, or the way you suppose somebody would or ought to act in a state of affairs like this one,” the Crown mentioned.

“In fact, you’re invited to attract upon your collective widespread sense, however be vigilant and never enable your self to be tempted by the myths and stereotypes which might be produced inside society about how victims of sexual assault ought to behave,” Donkers mentioned.

She requested jurors “preserve an open thoughts” and base their determination “solely on what the regulation is, not on what you’ll have thought the regulation was, or what you suppose it needs to be or what well-liked media could have led you to suppose.”

The Crown referred to as its first witness, London police Det. Tiffany Waque, who launched a scale drawing of Jack’s Bar, earlier than breaking for lunch.

After lunch, and after a prolonged break for authorized arguments with out the jury, Carroccia dismissed the jury for the day.

“I’m going to allow you to go for the day. One thing occurred over the lunch hour that I would like to consider and talk about with the attorneys,” she mentioned, earlier than dismissing them.

The trial continues on Thursday morning.

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