Michael McLeod arrives at court on Monday.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Michael McLeod, one of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexual assault, repeatedly lied to police about the 2018 incident then later changed his story about how the event unfolded, a Crown attorney said Wednesday during closing arguments at the trial in London, Ont.
Laying out the prosecution’s final submissions in the eight-week trial, Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham told the court that Mr. McLeod seemed intent on holding “some kind of sex party” for his teammates inside a London hotel room, without the consent of the woman involved.
“This is his plan, his idea,” Ms. Cunningham told Justice Maria Carroccia.
“He’s crafting a false narrative of how things got started in his room.”
Mr. McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 world junior team, have each been charged with sexual assault. Mr. McLeod faces a second charge of being a party to sexual assault. The five men have pleaded not guilty.
Defence lawyer in Hockey Canada trial asserts complainant exaggerated allegations for financial gain
The woman, known as E.M., because her name is protected by a publication ban, met Mr. McLeod at a London bar after a Hockey Canada gala in June, 2018, to celebrate the team. During the trial, court heard the two went back to his hotel room and had consensual sex.
E.M. alleges she was intoxicated and that Mr. McLeod later invited several teammates to the room without her consent, who she says then took turns sexually assaulting her. She testified that she feared for her safety, and felt pressure to perform multiple sex acts.
Ms. Cunningham’s closing arguments are an attempt to counter 2½ days of final submissions by the defence, in which lawyers representing the hockey players asserted it was E.M. who demanded sex with multiple players and became frustrated, egging them on, when they didn’t immediately agree.
On Monday, defence lawyers framed E.M. as someone who sought an adventurous night, then concocted a story of sexual assault amid regret for her actions. Daniel Brown, the defence lawyer for Mr. Formenton, went further on Tuesday, asserting that once London police closed their initial 2018 investigation, E.M. bolstered her claims of sexual assault in a bid for a financial settlement from Hockey Canada, which oversees the world junior team.
Police reopened their investigation in 2022 after the allegations became known publicly when TSN reported on court documents showing that Hockey Canada had settled a $3.55-million claim outside court without the players being consulted. The exact amount of that settlement is unknown.
Prior to the Crown questioning the credibility of Mr. McLeod’s statements, the defence invoked inconsistencies in E.M.’s testimony to assert that she was an unreliable witness.
The Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial is nearly over. Send us your questions about the case
Ms. Cunningham began her closing statements asserting that E.M. was not the “sexual aggressor,” as the defence has made her out to be. She was instead surprised and scared when several men entered the room and E.M. perceived “she is in a dangerous situation,” Ms. Cunningham said.
When Mr. McLeod was first interviewed by police in 2018, Ms. Cunningham said, he never mentioned what has since become a central aspect of the defence’s case – the assertion that E.M. asked Mr. McLeod to invite his teammates to the room after the two had sex.
Ms. Cunningham asserted that it was only much later that Mr. McLeod introduced that story to protect himself and his teammates.
When a police detective asked Mr. McLeod in 2018 how players came to his room at the hotel – Room 209 – Mr. McLeod did not mention a text that was sent from his cellphone around 2 a.m. on the night of the alleged assault to a 19-person team group chat. The text, which was shown in court, read: “Who wants to be in 3 way quick. 209- mikey.”
Ms. Cunningham said police asked Mr. McLeod if he sent any texts inviting the players to the room for sex, and his answer was that he sent a message telling them he had ordered food.
“It’s not just that he forgot, it’s not just that he didn’t mention he sent those texts. He outright lies,” Ms. Cunningham told the court, referring to an interview Mr. McLeod gave to now-retired officer Stephen Newton in November, 2018. “He lies to Detective Newton repeatedly.”
A mistrial, jury dismissal, excluded evidence: Key moments in the Hockey Canada trial
Ms. Cunningham said that when players began arriving at the room, E.M. stayed in bed with the covers pulled up to her neck and barely spoke, which she asserted is not the expected behaviour of someone who has requested group sex.
“[E.M.] was not the one who started this,” Ms. Cunningham told the court. “She was not consenting.”
Ms. Cunningham said previous testimony shows Mr. McLeod was offering to other players for E.M. to perform oral sex on them.
She said Mr. McLeod was “personally invested in bringing men to the room.”
“The reason he is so invested is because this is his plan, his idea,” she told the court – a plan she described as a sex party.
After having sex with Mr. McLeod, E.M. was in his bed naked and drunk, Ms. Cunningham said. “Then Mr. McLeod set her up,” she said, “completely without her knowledge or consent.”
E.M. said she felt intimidated and ultimately acquiesced, adopting a porn star mentality as a coping mechanism to get out of the room – an explanation Mr. McLeod’s lawyer, David Humphrey, called “preposterous” in his closing argument Monday.
Ms. Cunningham told the court that a text exchange later between Mr. McLeod and E.M., after Mr. McLeod learned her mother had gone to the police, shows E.M. was caught off guard by multiple players showing up in the room. Ms. Cunningham said that disproves the defence’s theory that she sought out the group sex.
In the text exchange, E.M. told Mr. McLeod she consented to going back to the hotel with him, but “it was everyone else after that I wasn’t expecting. I just felt like I was being made fun of and taken advantage of.”
Mr. McLeod responded by text saying, “I understand that you are embarrassed about what happened.”
Ms. Cunningham asserted that Mr. McLeod made no effort to disagree with her text, which she said amounted to an “implicit admission” by Mr. McLeod.
The Crown is expected to finish closing arguments Thursday, after which defence lawyers can respond if they choose. Justice Carroccia has scheduled July 24 for her verdict in the trial.
Send us your questions about the Hockey Canada trial
The weeks-long trial of five former Canada world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel in 2018 is nearly done, but the high-profile proceedings have raised many questions beyond what the judge's verdict will be. A mistrial and two dismissed juries made their own headlines, while emotional testimony from the complainant, E.M., and excluded evidence have prompted scrutiny of how Canada's beloved game and the justice system treats sexual-assault allegations.
Globe reporters have been in court every day reporting on the trial, and we want to hear your questions about the case. Submit your questions via the form below or send us an email at audience@globeandmail.com with "Hockey Canada" in the subject line.