A woman told the sexual assault trial of five hockey players Monday that she felt "numb and on autopilot" going through sexual acts with a group of men she didn't know in a hotel room seven years ago.
The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, told the court she was naked, drunk and scared when men started coming into the hotel room where she had just had sex with Michael McLeod, one of the five accused in the case.
First, two men arrived together, she said. The woman went to the bathroom, and when she came out, more men were in the room, she said. Some seemed like men she had seen at the bar where she had met McLeod earlier that night, but she said she didn't know their names, nor did she keep track of who stayed and who left as the night went on.
The men wanted her to lie down on a bedsheet on the floor of the room and seemed to be laughing at her as they discussed sexual acts they wanted her to perform, including some involving golf balls and golf clubs, she said.
"My mind just shut down," she said, adding it seemed like the only "safe" option was to do what they wanted. The woman said she "didn't know these men at all," and didn't know how they would react if she tried to say no or leave.
McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
All five accused were members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team. Court has heard many of the team's members were in town at the time for a gala celebrating their gold-medal win at that year's championship.
CAUTION: The following paragraphs contain graphic content some readers may find disturbing.
The woman said men were towering over her as she lay on the sheet and three of them pulled down their pants, wanting her to perform oral sex on them.
"They just started putting penises in my face," she testified.
Some in the room shouted commands as she performed oral sex, and the woman said she felt someone spit on her back. Then, she felt slaps on her buttocks, she said.
Afterward, she lay back on the sheet, and a fourth man did the splits right over her face, she said.
"It felt degrading," she said. "It was all just a joke to them."
The woman said she heard some of the men encouraging each other, saying one of them should have sex with her.
She went to the bathroom, and one of the men followed her in, she said. He put on a condom and they had sex, she said. It felt like a continuation of what had been going on, and like she didn't have control over the situation, the woman said.
The woman said she cried and tried to leave at various points throughout the night, but each time, someone would come over and convince her to stay. "They kept bringing me back," she said.
It was only after she'd left the room later that her mind seemed to re-enter her body and all the emotions she'd been blocking out came flooding back, she said.
Court has heard the initial sexual encounter with McLeod, when they were alone in the hotel room, is not part of the trial.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia told jurors Monday that they may use evidence related to the initial encounter with McLeod to assess the credibility of the complainant’s testimony about her "interest and level of participation" in what happened afterward, her ability to choose what activities to engage in and her level of intoxication.
However, she instructed them, they must not use that evidence for any other purpose.
The judge specifically told jurors they must not infer that if the woman willingly left the bar with McLeod and had consensual sex with him, it is more likely that she consented to the sexual activity that led to the charges against the five players, or that she is less worthy of belief.
McLeod, Hart and Dube are accused of obtaining oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube is also accused of slapping her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else.
Formenton is alleged to have had vaginal sex with the complainant without her consent inside the bathroom. Foote is alleged to have done the splits over her face and grazed his genitals on it without her consent.
The Crown alleges McLeod also vaginally penetrated her without her consent at the end of the night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
