A former NHL player and Robert Thomas, who are both on leave from respective teams, have been accused of sexual assault in connection with an alleged event that happened during the celebration of Canada’s victory at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Robert Thomas was charged with two counts of sexual assault, while Cal Foote, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, and Alex Formenton were only charged with one crime, according to the London, Ontario Police Service.
The Philadelphia Flyers have placed goalie Hart on leave, the Calgary Flames have placed forward Dube on leave, the New Jersey Devils have placed defenseman Foote and forward McLeod on leave.
Formenton is on a leave of absence from the Ottawa Senators, who own the NHL playing rights to him.
Chief of Police for London Thai Truong stated on Monday that the alleged incident happened on June 18, 2018, after a London ceremony honoring the World Junior team that won the gold medal.
“The victim and several teammates met at a downtown bar, and later on, the accused and several teammates invited her to a hotel room, where the sexual assault by the individuals now charged took place,” according to Troung.
London police’s initial inquiry revealed there weren’t enough reasons to press charges.
However, fresh evidence and further witness interviews from a second London police investigation, which started in 2022, led to the present accusations.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated on Friday at his news conference at NHL All-Star Weekend that he doesn’t think the four NHL players will
Commissioner Bettman stated, “They are all [restricted] free agents [after this season] and are no longer with their teams. If it were a personal problem, I would be concentrating on their defense, presuming that the charges are upheld. If they’re performing while this is going through, I’d be shocked.”
The NHL, according to the Commissioner, was initially made aware of the purported event on May 26, 2022, following the completion of preliminary, inconclusive investigations by Hockey Canada and the London Police Service.
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The London Police Service and Hockey Canada restarted their investigations as the League went ahead with its own. According to Commissioner Bettman, the NHL inquiry was finished in a full year.
