On Friday, a judge declared a mistrial in the sexual assault trial involving five former players from the Canadian men`s world junior hockey team.
This decision by the Ontario judge means a new trial will be held for Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote. All five players have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. The process of selecting a new jury commenced on Friday.
The trial had started on Wednesday, and the prosecution`s first witness had only briefly testified before proceedings were halted for legal discussions held outside the jury`s presence.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia informed the jurors on Friday morning that they were being discharged. The specific reason for the mistrial has not been disclosed, due to standard legal restrictions on reporting details from court sessions held without the jury.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in an Ontario hotel room in June 2018. This was when many team members were in London, Ontario, attending a Hockey Canada event to celebrate their gold medal victory at the 2018 World Junior Championship.
Michael McLeod faces an additional charge of being a party to sexual assault, to which he has also pleaded not guilty.
Currently, none of these players is on an active NHL roster or holds a contract with a league team.
