NHL player Michael McLeod faces two charges in a sexual assault case involving four other former Canadian junior world ranking players

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect people who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.

New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod faces two charges in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2018 in London, Ontario. Four other players who were members of the Canadian World Junior Hockey Championships were also charged as a result of that assault.

CBC News has obtained court documents showing that the London Police Service (LPS) formally charged McLeod with sexual assault and accessory to the crime on Wednesday, around June 19, 2018.

McLeod’s Devils teammate Cal Foote was charged on Sunday, the same day that 24-year-old Alex Formenton, a former NHL player who now plays in Switzerland, showed up at LPS headquarters to face charges of sexual assault.

On Friday, charges were filed against Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers. On Monday, charges were filed against Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames.

Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, McLeod and Carter Hart, all currently in the NHL, and former NHL player Alex Formenton (from left) are facing charges. They are expected in a London court on Monday. (USA TODAY Sports/Reuters; Getty Images; The Associated Press; Getty Images; USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

All defendants are due to appear before a London court on Monday. A press conference by the London police is also expected on the same day.

The five players have defended their innocence through their lawyers, who confirmed their clients will plead not guilty. McLeod, Dubé, Foote and Hart, all 25, are on leave from their NHL teams.

Background to the case

The incident is alleged to have occurred following a Hockey Canada gala in the southwestern Ontario city in June 2018, where players were honoured for their victory at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship.

Court documents from 2022 show that London police believed they had sufficient grounds to charge five players with sexually abusing a young woman in a hotel room.

In a complaint, the plaintiff, known in court documents as EM, alleged that after the gala she went to a player’s hotel room at the Delta Armories and engaged in sexual acts with him.

The lawsuit states that at some point the player allowed seven other people to enter the room without her “knowledge or consent.”

The Delta Armouries in London, Ontario, where police documents say the alleged sexual assault occurred on June 19, 2018. (Amanda Margison / CBC News)

According to the complaint, the hockey players engaged in a series of degrading sexual acts over the course of several hours, including placing genitals on the victim’s face, slapping her buttocks, spitting and ejaculating on her, and engaging in vaginal intercourse, even though the woman was too drunk to consent.

The LPS closed the case in 2018 but reopened it in 2022 in response to public outrage following a lawsuit that Hockey Canada settled for $3.5 million.

London police have not released any information about the charges and said they would comment publicly at a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Monday.

Police closed the case in 2018 but reopened it in 2022 in response to public outrage following a lawsuit.

For anyone who has been sexually abused, there is support available through crisis hotlines and local support services through these Canadian Government website or the Database of the Ending Violence Association of Canada. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.