Devils forwards Michael McLeod and Cal Foote, along with two other current NHL players, are facing sexual assault charges in Canada from an alleged 2018 incident and have been told to surrender to police in the next week.
Attorneys representing McLeod — David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein — confirmed that he was charged in the case.
“We can now confirm that more than five and a half years after EM’s initial complaint to police, the London Police Service has charged Mike McLeod with sexual assault,” Humphrey and Weinstein said in a statement, according to Sportsnet. “Mr. McLeod denies any criminal wrongdoing. He will be pleading not guilty and will vigorously defend the case. None of the evidence has been presented, let alone tested in court. We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod’s privacy, and his family’s privacy.
“Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time.”
McLeod, Foote, Flyers goalie Carter Hart and Flames forward Dillon Dube were all directed to turn themselves over to London, Ontario police on charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault in June 2018 at an upscale London hotel following a Hockey Canada gala, according to TSN.
Former NHLer Alex Formenton — now playing overseas in Switzerland — is also facing charges and turned himself in to authorities on Sunday.
All five players were part of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Championship team that won gold in the IIHF’s annual competition that was held in Buffalo earlier that year.
London Police are expected to hold a news conference on Feb. 5 to update the public on the case.
Last week, the Globe & Mail reported that London Police told five members of the 2018 Canada World Junior team to turn themselves in to face sexual assault charges.
Prior to that, all were granted leaves of absence from their respective teams with the Flyers describing the reason for Hart’s stepping away as “personal.”
The Devils did not provide a reason for McLeod and Foote’s absence.
The Flames previously said Dube left the team to attend to his “mental health” and that he was “under the care of health professionals.”
When the players turn themselves in, they will be photographed, fingerprinted and then sign a legally binding agreement not to have any contact with the alleged victim, TSN reported.
The victim, only identified as E.M. in court documents involved in a civil lawsuit, alleges that she met a man in a downtown London bar, left with him and had consensual sex with him at the hotel, but then he invited other players to the room to have sex with her without her consent.
London Police were made aware of the allegations days after the alleged assault but closed the case in Feb. 2019 without any charges.
A civil suit was brought against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and eight unnamed players in connection to the alleged incident.
Hockey Canada quietly settled the civil litigation, but reporting on it led to a fierce public backlash that forced the governing body and the NHL to open investigations, and London Police re-opened its inquiry in July 2022.
In late 2022, authorities said in court filings that they had reasonable grounds to believe five members of Canada’s World Junior team had committed sexual assault.