4 NHL players charged with sexual assault stemming from alleged 2018 World Juniors incident

All four players are on a leave of absence from their respective teams

Philadelphia Flyers' Carter Hart, Calgary Flames' Dillon Dube, and New Jersey Devils' Michael McLeod and Cal Foote were each charged with sexual assault on Tuesday.

The three players are alleged to have been three of five members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team that sexually assaulted a woman at a hotel following their gold medal win.

The complaint, which was quietly settled in 2022, alleged that the woman, only named "E.M.," met some of the players at a bar and later engaged in consensual sexual acts with one player in a hotel room, according to a report from The Globe and Mail.

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Team Canada Flag

The Canadian flag is raised after Team Canada defeated Team Sweden in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship at Scotiabank Centre on December 31, 2022 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Team Canada defeated Team Sweden 5-1.   (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The complaint continued that seven other members of the team then entered the room, and she was "subjected to further sexual assaults" despite her protests. 

Lawyers for all four players said their respective clients are innocent, via NJ.com, as they have all been given a leave of absence.

"He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the proper forum, a court of law," Hart's lawyers said in a statement.

Canada Flag

Canadian man stands accused of illegally aiding in assisted suicide. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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TSN reported that a settlement was reached in May 2022 and that London Police reopened their investigation the following month after a previous investigation in February 2019 resulted in no charges. 

Former NHL player Alex Formenton was charged after he turned himself in to Canadian authorities earlier this week.

NHL logo on referee

A close-up view of the NHL logo worn by referee Garrett Rank #7 during the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center on January 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

London Police scheduled a news conference for Feb. 5 to address the situation and declined to comment further on the case. A spokesman told the AP that police "will provide all updates at our press conference."

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos, Paulina Dedaj, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Authored by Ryan Morik via FoxNews January 30th 2024