London police say ‘additional evidence’ led to reopening of the 2018 sexual assault case involving Carter Hart

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart has been formally charged with one count of sexual assault, the chief of the London, Ontario, police service confirmed on Monday.

Hart is one of five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team facing charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault at a London hotel in June 2018. The investigation, originally opened just days after the events took place and closed in February 2019 without charges being filed, was reopened through a comprehensive review by the London police of the case on July 28, 2022.

“This review involved reexamining initial investigative steps, gathering additional evidence, and obtaining new information. As a result, we have found sufficient grounds to charge five adult males with sexual assault,” London police chief Thai Truong said.

» READ MORE: What we know about the Hockey Canada sexual assault investigation

According to police, the victim and players met at Jack’s, a bar in downtown London, following a Hockey Canada event celebrating the team’s gold medal from the 2018 World Junior Championship. The victim accompanied one of the accused to a room at the Delta Hotels by Marriott London Armouries in the early hours of June 19. “This is where the offense took place,” police said.

A family member of the victim contacted police that morning seeking advice and the next day a report was assigned to the sexual assault and child abuse section of the London police department. The victim, who police confirmed Monday has cooperated from the start, provided a statement within days of the alleged assault.

The woman filed in April 2022 a statement of claim in which she alleged that those players intimidated her and sexually assaulted her over several hours while she was too intoxicated to provide consent. The claim, which was settled out of court the following month, sought $3.55 million in damages from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed players. The London police reopened their case in July 2022.

“I want to extend on behalf of the London police service my sincerest apology to the victim, to her family for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point,” said Truong, who was not the chief at the time of the alleged assault and subsequent investigation.

Although neither Truong, who was named police chief on June 1, 2023, nor Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann, who was appointed in 2022 to lead the reopened investigation, could provide more details Monday regarding what exactly occurred on the night of the alleged sexual assault due to the ongoing criminal case, Dann did reveal that the recent probe found more evidence and new information.

“Our team explored investigative opportunities in addition to the 2018 investigation. Those leads were followed, additional witnesses were spoken to, and we collected more evidence,” Dann said.

“I can confirm that some of this evidence was not available when the investigation concluded in 2019. This is one investigation, not two. The evidence that was collected in 2018 and 2019 was used in combination with newly gathered evidence to form reasonable and probable grounds to charge these five individuals with sexual assault.”

When asked if the 2018-19 investigation met his standards, Truong declined to answer citing the ongoing legal case against the hockey players. He did state, however, that “everyone involved in the 2018 investigation are potential witnesses.”

Although the victim named eight John Does in her 2022 claim, the London police would not comment if the three other players from the victim’s claim that are not currently facing charges will ever face charges: “We have laid charges for all the charges that we have reasonable grounds for,” said Dann.

When asked if the 2022 claim and public pressure led to the subsequent reopening of the case under then-police chief Steve Williams, Truong did not know but said from his understanding, “information came to light as a result of the community.”

According to Dann, the police have had “varying levels of participation” during the investigation from other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team. She too declined to offer any more specifics, citing the pending legal proceedings.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to reporters on Friday at All-Star weekend and said that the league, which conducted its own investigation, had interviewed every player from the 2018 team during its year-long process (2022-23).

» READ MORE: Carter Hart charged with sexual assault in connection to 2018 Hockey Canada incident, lawyers say

Dann acknowledged the recent individual investigations by Hockey Canada and the NHL “did add complexity to the case,” but revealed that she has “not spoken to anyone from the NHL over the last several months.”

Hockey Canada issued a press release on Monday afternoon stating the organization “has cooperated fully with the London police service throughout its investigation.” It also added that all members of the 2018 team remain suspended from sanctioned programs, which includes the 2026 Olympics. The 4 Nations Face-Off to be held in 2025 is an NHL event and does not fall under Hockey Canada’s guidelines.

Earlier on Monday, Hart and his co-defendants were represented by their individual lawyers at a hearing on Zoom. Crown attorneys, or the prosecution, will be sharing evidence with the lawyers and the next hearing is scheduled for April 30. The court also ordered a “publication ban,” which is a judicial order barring any party from publicly sharing identifiable information about the accuser or key witnesses.

Hart’s co-defendants who are facing one count of sexual assault are Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames, Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, and former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, who has not played in the NHL since 2021-22. New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod is facing an additional charge for “being a party to the offense.” According to Dann, the first sexual assault charge “is in relation to his own actions and the party to the offense charge is in relation to aiding someone else in committing the offense.” She would not disclose any further details.

Hart has not been suspended by the NHL, but his name no longer appears on the Flyers’ roster. According to a report from TSN, the Flyers, Devils, and Flames have been informed that they will receive cap relief for the players who are on paid leave while facing charges.

The Flyers goaltender is in the final year of a three-year, $11.937 million contract and is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1. If the Flyers don’t qualify the 25-year-old, he would become a free agent, although that wouldn’t necessarily free him up to sign elsewhere. Bettman was adamant Hart and the three current NHL players would not be playing anytime soon.

“They’re away from their teams now and they’re all free agents,” Bettman said. “As a personal matter, if I were them, I’d be focusing on defending themselves. ... I would be surprised if they were playing while this was pending.”

» READ MORE: Has Carter Hart played his last game for the Flyers?