Mistrial declared in sex assault case against 5 ex-world junior hockey players in London, Ont.

Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia has declared a mistrial in the case against five former world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel in 2018. 

The stunning and rare move comes three days after a 14-member jury was chosen to hear the case against the men, all of whom had careers in the NHL at some point. 

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton each faces one count of sexual assault. McLeod faces an additional count of being a party to an offence. They've all pleaded not guilty.

"I'm sorry to tell you that I am declaring a mistrial in this case," Carroccia told the court on Friday. "As a result of that, the jury is now discharged.

"Thank you very much for your attention in this case. You are now free to go."

The reasons for the mistrial cannot be reported because of a standard ban that prohibits the publication of any trial proceedings that take place without the jury present. The bulk of the last two days in court this week were taken up by legal discussions between lawyers and the judge after the jury was sent home Wednesday afternoon.  

A new jury will be chosen beginning today.  

A mistrial is declared at the discretion of the judge to avoid a miscarriage of justice, which happens when a trial is unfair or there is an appearance of unfairness.

"A trial judge must only issue a mistrial in the clearest of cases where no other remedy can rectify the prejudice or harm that has been raised," said Sam Puchala, a criminal lawyer in London, Ont., who's not connected to the world junior hockey case.

 "The conditions for a mistrial can vary substantially and each case is very fact driven, which requires a context-specific analysis by the trial judge."

The complainant's identity in this case, known in court as E.M., is covered by a publication ban — which is standard in sexual assault cases. 

At the time the charges were announced, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dubé was with the Calgary Flames and Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers. Formenton was signed by the Ottawa Senators but was playing in Switzerland.

Hart isn't currently in the sport, but McLeod and Dubé have been playing with Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) teams. Foote played in a Slovakian hockey league this season and Formenton has indicated he's working in construction in Barrie, Ont. 

The case dates back to the summer of 2018, while they were at a London hotel following a gala celebrating the world junior hockey team's gold-medal win months earlier.