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Hockey Canada says a third-party judicial panel has completed its final report on potential sanctions against former world junior players who were allegedly involved in a 2018 group sexual assault in London, Ontario.
But the hockey organization is not releasing the results — or saying whether the report recommends sanctions against any players — because it says the panel’s findings are now subject to appeal.
“Because the appeals process, which we anticipate will begin in the near future, will be conducted in camera, we are not able to share details of the report, including findings, at this time to ensure we do not interfere with it. “The integrity of the appeals process,” Hockey Canada spokesperson Jeremy Knight said in a press release.
The hockey organization says it received the notice of appeal soon after the adjudication panel comprising two retired judges and a senior lawyer shared its final report with all concerned parties, including the players and the alleged victim. Hockey Canada would not say who filed the appeal.
The work of the judging panel is going on behind closed doors. Hockey Canada will not name the three members of what it calls an independent panel. Hockey Canada tasked the panel with determining whether players violated its code of conduct.
The high-profile case centers on a lawsuit Hockey Canada settled with a young woman who in April 2022 alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight Canadian Hockey League players, including members of the world junior team, in 2018.
The lawsuit rocked the sports world and led to many sponsors dropping their support for Hockey Canada, while the federal government halted funding of the agency and MPs demanded answers. Hockey parents were also angry after learning that Hockey Canada had used the National Equity Fund – made up of part of their registration fees – to pay out-of-court settlements in that case and other cases.
The organization’s entire board of directors and CEO resigned last year amid widespread criticism of its handling of the alleged sexual harassment case.
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The woman alleged in her lawsuit that an unnamed hockey player bought alcoholic beverages for her at a local bar. She claims she became intoxicated and stammered and her speech became slurred.
The statement of claim alleges that the complainant went to the player’s hotel room and engaged in sexual acts. The statement of claim alleges that at some point, the player allowed seven other people to enter the room without the complainant’s “knowledge or consent”. The statement of claim said they had “brought golf clubs with them, knowing it would further frighten and intimidate her.”
According to the statement of claim, over the course of several hours the group of hockey players placed their genitals in her face, slapped her buttocks, spit on her, ejaculated on her and engaged in vaginal intercourse while she was so intoxicated that Was not able to give consent.
The statement of claim says that after the sexual assault ended, the players filmed the young woman, instructed her to tell her she was cool and asked her to take a shower.
The statement of claim also alleges that the players pressured the girl not to report the allegations or cooperate with the police investigation.
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When Hockey Canada learned of the allegations, it initially contacted high-profile law firm Heinein Hutchison Robitaille LLP for legal advice, a parliamentary committee has heard. Hockey Canada later hired a law firm to launch its own investigation into what happened.
Heineen Hutchison’s report on the alleged sexual harassment was shared with Hockey Canada’s adjudicating panel in November 2022. Hockey Canada said the panel was tasked with determining whether sanctions should be imposed against the players.
The London Police Service is conducting its own separate investigation into the alleged attack. It reopened its investigation into the allegation in response to public criticism.
Court documents unsealed almost a year ago revealed that London police investigators believed they had reasonable grounds to charge five world junior hockey players with sexually assaulting a woman. None of the police allegations have been proven in court and no charges have been filed.
The NHL has also conducted its own investigation and has not yet publicly released the results.