Michael McLeod arrives at court on Monday.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
A Crown attorney asserted in closing submissions on Wednesday that Michael McLeod repeatedly lied to police about what happened on the night that he and four of his former world junior hockey teammates allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a London, Ont., hotel.
The woman, known as E.M., because her name is protected by a publication ban, met Mr. McLeod at a London bar following a Hockey Canada gala to celebrate the team in June, 2018, and 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 then took turns sexually assaulting her. She testified that she feared for her safety in the room, and felt pressured into performing multiple sex acts.
Mr. McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, 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
Defence lawyers have asserted that it was E.M. who asked McLeod to invite more people to the room. But in her closing arguments in the eight-week trial on Wednesday, Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham said that when Mr. McLeod was first interviewed by police in 2018, he never mentioned that point.
Ms. Cunningham asserted that it was only much later that Mr. McLeod introduced that story to protect himself and his teammates.
“He’s crafting a false narrative of how things got started in his room,” Ms. Cunningham told Justice Maria Carroccia.
When a police detective asked Mr. McLeod in 2018 how players came to the room, he did not mention a text court saw that was sent around 2 a.m. on the night of the alleged assault from his cellphone to a 19-person team group chat: “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, 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 Det. Newton repeatedly, but in particular, he lies to Det. Newton about the text messages that he sent or didn’t send that night.”
Ms. Cunningham began her closing statements saying E.M. was not the “sexual aggressor,” as the defence has made her out to be. She was instead surprised and scared when men entered the room and perceived “she is in a dangerous situation.”
Ms. Cunningham said E.M. stayed in bed with the covers pulled up to her neck when players started arriving in the room, and did not speak, which is not the expected behaviour for someone who has asked to engage in group sex.
“[E.M.] was not the one who started this,” Ms. Cunningham said. “She was not consenting.”
Ms. Cunningham said previous testimony shows Mr. McLeod was offering to other players that E.M. would perform oral sex on them.
Ms. Cunningham 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.
“We see moments where the truth bleeds through,” Ms. Cunningham told Justice Carroccia, asserting that he was “hosting some kind of sex party” for his teammates.
E.M. agreed to go back to the hotel room alone and, after having sex with Mr. McLeod, she was in his bed naked and drunk, Ms. Cunningham said.
“Then Mr. McLeod set her up,” she said, “completely without her knowledge or consent.”
The Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial is nearly over. Send us your questions about the case
Ms. Cunningham told the court that a text exchange between Mr. McLeod and E.M., after Mr. McLeod had learned her mother went to the police, shows she was caught off guard by the players showing up in the room. Ms. Cunningham said that disproves the defence’s theory that she sought out 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 saying, “I understand that you are embarrassed about what happened.”
Ms. Cunningham displayed the texts in court on Wednesday, and asserted that Mr. McLeod made no effort to disagree with her text.
He never responded, “What are you talking about? You asked me to invite them,” she told the court. Ms. Cunningham called it “implicit admission” by Mr. McLeod.
Ms. Cunningham asserted that E.M. has been consistent in her testimony, both in statements to the Crown and under cross-examination, that she was surprised when players started entering the room.
“She has never wavered on the point of having a distinct memory of surprise when people walked in,” Ms. Cunningham told the court.
Ms. Cunningham told the court that when the first two players, Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, entered the hotel room, E.M. didn’t engage with them. Neither of those players is accused of wrongdoing.
Both men testified as witnesses. Mr. Katchouk said E.M. asked for a bite of the pizza slice he was carrying, which he did not agree to give her.
Specifically, Ms. Cunningham said, E.M. did not speak to them about sex.
“It defies logic and common sense that if she was actually the instigator, if she was the one who wanted to engage in sexual activity with anyone else other than Mr. McLeod, that she would not engage with Raddysh and Katchouk. It makes absolutely no sense.”
Ms. Cunningham added: “These things are not reconcilable. Someone is lying.”
Defence lawyers wrapped up their closing arguments Wednesday, asserting that the complainant knew she was hanging out with members of Team Canada that night and sought them out, despite her testimony to the contrary.
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.