Police chief apologizes for lengthy investigation in Carter Hart sexual assault case; Flyers goalie not present for first court hearing

Following the press conference held by police in London, Ontario, announcing five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team are facing sexual assault charges, Hockey Canada issued a press release stating the organization “has cooperated fully with the London Police Service throughout its investigation.”

It also added that all players from the 2018 team remain suspended from participating in Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs. This includes international tournaments. An appeal was filed in November 2023 in response to an investigation into whether any players from the 2018 team breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct and should face sanctions, and the process is ongoing.

London, Ontario, police have adopted a growing best practice in police investigations of sexual assaults known as “the Philadelphia Model,” officials said Monday in announcing charges against Carter Hart and four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team.

But Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann, the lead investigator on the probe, said a review committee of outside experts — created as part of that implementation — did not review the 2018-2019 investigation that was closed without charges.

With the case involving four current NHL players and one former player, the league opened its own investigation in 2022. 

On Friday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated that the year-long process included interviewing every player from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team. 

Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann, the lead investigator on the reopened investigation, read a statement from legal representatives of the accuser, whom authorities have only identified by the initials E.M..

“It takes an incredible amount of courage for any survivor of sexual assault to report to police and participate in the criminal justice system, and that is certainly the case for E.M.,” the statement read. “But she is committed to seeing this process through.”

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart and four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team have been charged with sexual assault stemming from a 2018 incident in a hotel room in London, Canada.

Could more former players end up facing charges?

Thai Truong, chief of the London, Ontario police service, declined to say Monday whether the 2018-2019 investigation into E.M.’s sexual assault allegations that resulted in no charges against Hart and the four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team met with his professional standards.

Though police took the woman’s statement days after the alleged assault and investigated for several months, they ultimately determined in early 2019 that there was not enough evidence to bring a case.

Thai Truong, the chief of police for the London Police Service in London, Ontario, apologized to a woman who reported that she was sexually assaulted by members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team.

“I want to extend, on behalf of the London Police Service, my sincerest apology to the victim and her family for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point,” Truong said at a press conference Monday.

The judge presiding over Monday's first court appearance for Carter Hart and the four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team charged with sexual assault issued what is known in Canadian law as a “publication ban” in the case — an order for which there is no exact equivalent in U.S. law.

So what does that mean?

Neither Carter Hart nor any of his codefendants — the four other former members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team charged alongside him — were present for Monday’s first court hearing in the case.

Each left it to their attorneys to handle the short, largely perfunctory proceeding over Zoom, in which the court laid out the timeline for the case to proceed and set a next hearing date for April 30.

Flyers goalie Carter Hart is one of five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team who have been charged with sexual assault following their alleged involvement in an incident at a London hotel room in June 2018 following a Hockey Canada banquet.

Former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dubé, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod, and defenseman Cal Foote have also been charged.

There were no formal suspensions handed down by the NHL last week for the four players charged in connection to an alleged 2018 sexual assault.

But league commissioner Gary Bettman was adamant that Flyers goalie Carter Hart, as well as the three other NHL players, won’t be playing any time soon.

Hockey Canada held a fundraising banquet on June 18, 2018, in London that included most members of the 2018 gold medal-winning World Junior team. After the banquet, a 20-year-old woman met members of the team at a local bar and later was allegedly sexually assaulted by several players in a player’s hotel room.

The next day, the woman’s stepfather told Hockey Canada that his stepdaughter said she was sexually assaulted by eight hockey players, including members of the 2018 World Junior team, while intoxicated the night before.

On Jan. 24, Flyers general manager Danny Brière denied knowing why Carter Hart had requested a leave of absence from the team.

“We are aware of this morning’s press reports on the very serious matter,” Brière read from a prepared statement. “We will respond appropriately when the outcomes of the investigations are made public. The NHL has been very clear that teams should refer all investigation-related questions to them. In the meantime, members of the organization, including Flyers players, will not be commenting any further. So that’s all we can say at the moment, unfortunately.”