Retired police officer Steven Newton, who had questioned accused Michael McLeod, testified as a new Crown witness on May 27 in the sexual assault trial of five former Hockey Canada junior players. Newton served with the London Police Service for 32 years and was the lead investigator in the 2018 case when he had interviewed McLeod in connection with the allegations against the hockey player.
The Crown presented a recorded police interview from November 18, 2018, before the court during the testimony. In the one-hour-and-fifteen-minute video, Newton is seen questioning McLeod.
Newton told McLeod the goal of the interview was to gather facts and determine whether a sexual assault had occurred as alleged by the victim. He said that if, during the interview, he believed he had grounds for a charge, he would stop and inform McLeod.
In the video, McLeod claimed that E.M. had offered oral sex. He said the group was drinking but not too intoxicated, adding, “We had our heads on straight for the most part.” After having consensual sex with E.M., McLeod said he went to get food from the lobby. When he returned, he saw E.M. with another player, Carter Hart.
McLeod said he recorded a video of E.M. giving consent because he was “worried something like this might happen.”
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During the hearing earlier in the day, the defence finished cross-examining another witness, NHL player Brett Howden. A defence lawyer suggested that Howden may have downplayed his contact with E.M. during earlier interviews. Howden denied this, saying he couldn’t recall the security footage.The case concerns allegations that a woman, known as E.M., was sexually assaulted in room 209 of the Delta Hotel in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018. Many members of the 2018 World Junior Championship team were in town at the time to celebrate their victory.The five defendants- McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Carter Hart, and Alex Formenton – have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault; McLeod also faces a count of being party to the offence. They are not currently affiliated with any NHL teams.