On Thursday, five former NHL players were acquitted on charges of sexual assault. Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, and Callan Foote were acquitted by Justice Maria Carroccia.
Five Players Acquitted
Breaking: Justice Maria Carroccia has acquitted five former #NHL players – Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote – today on charges of sexual assault.
Justice Carroccia opined she found “inconsistencies” in the testimony of a woman who alleged…
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 24, 2025
The verdict is not too surprising. On Thursday morning, Justice Carroccia stated that there questions regarding the credibility of the evidence presented against the players.
The case centered rather or not the five players had engaged in consensual sexual activity during training sessions for the 2018 World Juniors.
Inconsistencies in Testimony
Justice Carroccia explained in her ruling that she found inconsistencies in the testimony of the woman pressing charges. For her privacy, her name is not being released to the public and she has been referred to as “E.M.”
These inconsistencies included who had bought drinks that night as well some statements given contradicted previous statements.
“Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus [of proof] on any of the counts before me.”
Big Event in Canada
The case was making the headlines in Canada, leading to many showing up to the courthouse to personally witness the verdict. Furthermore, the amount of people in attendance required additional overflow rooms being opened.
What’s Next?
Now that the verdict is announced, it will be interesting to see if the NHL takes any disciplinary action against the players, as all were playing in the NHL at the time of the event. However, this may be unlikely given that they were acquitted in trial.
Commissioner Gary Bettman has not spoken about the future of the players to protect the legal process. Now that the trial is over, we will see what comes next, if anything.
UPDATE
A few hours after the judge’s decision, the NHL announced that the five players were ineligible to play. The league plans to investigate the situation. The NHLPA has responded with a statement.
“Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod were acquitted of all charges by Justice Carroccia of the Ontario Superior Court,” the NHLPA’s statement read. “After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL’s declaration that the Players are ‘ineligible’ to play pending its further analysis of the Court’s findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA.
“We are addressing this dispute with the League and will have no further comment at this time.”
Main Photo: Sam Navarro- Imagn Images
