MONTREAL — All charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of a Concordia University student have been dropped against three former McGill University football players.
There will be no trial for 22-year-old Ian Sherriff, Brenden Carriere and Guillaume Tremblay. They have all been cleared of all charges and have not been convicted of an offence.
READ MORE: McGill campus football team at centre of sex assault controversy
On Monday afternoon at the Montreal courthouse, the three McGill University students were cleared of all criminal charges weighing against them.
The former members of the Redmen football team were charged by police in April 2012 for allegedly sexually assaulting and forcibly confining a female Concordia University student inside an apartment.
The alleged incident dates back to September 2011, when, according to reports, the three men met the alleged victim and another woman at a bar and went back to the players’ apartment.
The campus was rocked by the alleged sexual assault scandal after it was learned that the three students had been allowed to continue to play with the Redmen football team even after officials learned of the charges.
Monday was supposed to be the start of the preliminary inquiry.
Prosecutor Miguel Boisvert announced to the court he had received “new information over the weekend” that forced him to withdraw the counts.
“A witness the defence was asking for was found, and she made a statement that our clients have made since the beginning,” defence attorney Deborah DeThomasis said.
“The sex was consensual.”
READ MORE: Why don’t victims or bystanders report sexual assault?
DeThomasis represented Guillaume Tremblay in the case.
The students at the centre of the case turned down our requests for a comment.
Attorney Isabelle Schurman, who represents Ian Sherriff, told Global News: “It was a fair and just result.”
Defence lawyers suggested a civil lawsuit remains a “possibility.”
The alleged victim in the case left the Montreal Courthouse in tears.
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