The female complainant in the high-profile world junior sexual assault trial has finished her time on the stand after first taking it nearly two weeks ago.
The 27-year-old woman, whose identity is protected under a standard publication ban, has been appearing virtually inside a London, Ont., courtroom since May 2.
She began her testimony against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team that day and wrapped up on May 5, after which she was subject to tense cross-examination that finished Tuesday.
Crown prosecutors Wednesday followed up on any topics raised in cross-examination. Re-examination, as its known, was bogged by legal arguments that were made without the jury present; matters discussed when the jury is not present can’t be reported until after jurors are sequestered to deliberate.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault stemming from what the Crown alleges was non-consensual group sex in McLeod’s room at the Delta hotel in London back in June 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
Court has heard the team was in town for events marking its gold-medal performance at that year’s championship, and E.M. was out with friends when they met at a downtown bar on June 18. After being with McLeod and his teammates at the bar, E.M. would go on to have consensual sex with McLeod in his room in the early morning hours of June 19.
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Court has heard E.M., who was 20 at the time, was in the washroom after she had sex with McLeod and came out to a group of men in the room allegedly invited for a “3 way” by McLeod in a group chat.
Throughout the marathon cross-examination, defence lawyers have suggested E.M. wasn’t as drunk as she has testified she was, wanted a “wild night” with the players, was “egging” them on to have sex with her and accused her of having a “clear agenda” at the trial.
E.M. has both pushed back against those claims, and at points outright rejected them, saying she was coaxed into staying in the room, was disrespected and was taken advantage of by the group who she said “could see I was out of my mind.”
When the jury was present Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Meagan Cunningham sought to have E.M. clarify how she knows she wouldn’t have said the things defence lawyers are suggesting she may have said in McLeod’s room.
“I had left with only one person, and that after a sexual encounter, I’m assuming I’m just staying in bed and staying there and not expecting anything else,” she told Cunningham.
“I left under one certain impression that I was leaving with him, and that would be how the night ended.”
After answering Cunningham’s questions, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia released E.M. Court will now hear from the next Crown witness in the case.
— with files from Sean O’Shea and The Canadian Press
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