July 24, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart and four other former Canada Hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario hotel room in June 2018 were found not guilty on Thursday morning, Judge Maria Carroccia revealed in court Thursday. Above, Hart in 2023.
Ex-Flyers goalie Carter Hart was found not guilty in the sexual assault case brought against him and four other former Hockey Canada players.
Judge Maria Carroccia issued the verdict Thursday afternoon — nearly six weeks after the trial concluded. Hart's ex-teammates — Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote — all were found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman over several hours in a hotel room in London, Ontario in June 2018. McCleod also was found not guilty of facilitating the alleged assault.
"I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me," Carroccia said Thursday morning, per multiple media reports.
The incident happened after a gala celebrating the World Juniors championship Team Canada had won months earlier. The woman, who was 20 at the time and has been identified only as E.M. due to a publication ban, alleged McLeod took her back to his hotel room and invited several other people to perform sexual acts with her. She claimed the men prevented her from leaving and had her record videos saying she was sober and that the acts were consensual.
Carroccia said she determined she could not rely on the evidence provided by E.M. when considering evidence from the trial as a whole. She said she did not view E.M.'s account of events as credible or reliable.
The case in Ontario Superior Court has been fraught with procedural issues since the trial began in April. A mistrial was declared in the first week due to an interaction between a defense attorney and a juror, and a second jury was discharged after one of the jury members accused some of the defense lawyers of mocking the jury. Carroccia then decided to move forward with a bench trial, which concluded last month after eight weeks of testimony.
Crown attorney Meghan Cunningham had argued the videos of E.M. giving verbal consent did not meet Canada's standard of care to ensure her actions were fully willing. Cunningham said the videos show evidence that the players instructed E.M. to give consent to protect themselves from future allegations of sexual assault.
E.M. filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and eight players in 2022. The parties reached a settlement, but renewed scrutiny of the incident led authorities to file charges against five players in February 2024.
In court, E.M. testified she met McLeod at a London bar and agreed to go to his hotel room after a night of drinking. She said she first had consensual sex with McLeod. She alleged he then invited the other players to the room to engage in sexual acts — without her knowledge or consent.
Canada's affirmative consent laws require ongoing consent throughout an encounter for all sexual acts that take place. Prosecutors argued E.M. found herself in a vulnerable position and engaged in sex with the other players out of fear for what might happen if she refused.
Hart, who played six seasons in Philadelphia, took an indefinite leave of absence from the NHL a month before he was charged. Hart was the only defendant to testify during the trial. He said E.M. was asking for guys to have sex with her, and that he had E.M's consent when she gave him oral sex. He also characterized the videos as a reasonable step to take for legal protection.
"Lots of professional athletes have done those things before," Hart told the court during Cunningham's questioning.
Hart also testified that he would have acted differently if he had been aware E.M. was acting against her will.
"I think if something would have happened that she wasn't OK with or didn’t want, I would have put a stop to it," Hart said. "Other guys would have, I would have left. I don't think I would have stayed in that room for as long as I did."
During the trial, defense attorneys questioned E.M.'s credibility and claimed she initiated and invited sexual activity with the players in the hotel room.
The assault charges against the five players each carried maximum possible sentences of 10 years in prison. Any of the players found guilty would have had the right to file appeals.
Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube were all free agents as of June, and none have an active contract with any hockey team in the NHL or elsewhere. Formenton has not played in the NHL since 2022.
