What to expect next in 2018 World Junior investigation

LONDON, Ont. – Now that the first court appearance and a press conference by the London Police Service pertaining to the investigation around the 2018 World Junior alleged sexual assault have occurred, the next question becomes: What’s next?

In talking to legal experts and lawyers, Sportsnet was able to answer some of these questions.

First, what do we need to know about Monday’s court appearance?

In the first court date surrounding the case involving five players charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident in 2018 allegedly involving members of that year’s Canadian national junior team, the players did not appear and their lawyers appeared via video conferencing.

No charges were read, and no pleas were read into the record. The lawyers established who they were representing. A publication ban on the victim’s name, referred to in redacted court documents as “E.M.,” was ordered in place by the justice of the peace. The Crown in the case, Heather Donkers, said the “substantial” amount of evidence – which would range from texts to photos to videos to audio and social media posts – would be sent by couriers to defence lawyers Monday and Tuesday. The next hearing in the case was set for April 30. 

What will happen between now and April 30?

A lot of, to quote one lawyer, “delays.” Some of the province’s most highly regarded defence lawyers hired by the defendants will review the evidence sent to them by the Crown, there will be discovery, pre-trial motions filed by the defence, evidentiary hearings, meetings, etc. And although the charges have been laid by London police, they have yet to be read in court, so that has to happen along the way as well.

Could these delays influence the outcome of the trial?

Potentially. Even given all the anticipated delays that are the norm for this kind of case, the trial date must be set within six months of the charges being laid, and a trial should conclude within three years.

Four of the five players charged were charged on different days, so the clock is ticking slightly unevenly around this. Nonetheless, if the trial date has not been set before the six-month deadline, the charges are at risk.

What other challenges does the Crown face in getting convictions?

Time is a common thread throughout this incident. According to court documents, the alleged incident occurred in June 2018. The matter was investigated by London police shortly thereafter but was concluded, without charges, in February 2019. After news came to light in the aftermath the settlement by Hockey Canada with the victim in April 2022, an internal review was conducted by London police, after which the investigation was re-opened by then-Police Chief Steve Williams in July 2022.

That investigation concluded with charges being laid in the last week of January 2024. A trial, given the multitude of motions and Ontario’s overbooked court system, might not start until 2026. Under more typical circumstances, it’s difficult to get a conviction in sexual assault cases but the fact the trial could potentially begin eight years after the first investigation could be the most severe challenge in getting a conviction. Given that inebriation was a factor at the time of the alleged incident, adding years to memory recall at the time by the time there is a trial will further exacerbate that challenge.

Will there be one trial?

The Crown will certainly push for one trial for a multitude of reasons, one of which is to avoid the victim having to testify more than once around the same incident. If any of the defence lawyers are successful in asking for a separate trial for their client, then it is likely they will all get separate trials. Or, there could be, say, three trials if there are two plea bargains to lesser charges. Also, expect the defence to push for a trial by judge, as judges tend to adhere to evidence and precedent, while jury trials tend to favour the prosecution, as jury members sometimes let emotion override evidence.

If there are convictions, what will happen next?

One lawyer predicted that if there is a conviction, it would be appealed. And if the appeal is unsuccessful, then taking the case to the Supreme Court is not out of the question, given the visibility, the stakes and the high competency of the defence lawyers. Also, a sexual assault conviction can result in a maximum 10-year sentence, but typically a first-time offender is sentenced to around two years.

What’s next for the London Police Service?

Chief Thai Truong and Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann read statements and then answered questions from the media, but faced the full brunt of what many Canadians have been thinking all along: What took so long? To which Chief Truong offered “our sincerest apology to the victim and her family for the amount of time it has taken to this point.” But the failure of the original investigation and the investigative procedures of a police force working on earning back trust from its community will be a long road to hoe.