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CanadaWill the acquitted hockey players soon replay in NHL?
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The prosecutor decided not to appeal the judgment which had acquitted the five players accused of sexual assault.
In North America, several insiders claim that NHL clubs would gladly welcome the Carter Hart goalkeeper in their ranks.
IMAGO/ZUMA PressWhile he had a 30 -day period to do so, the prosecutor decided not to appeal to Acquitments pronounced in favor of five hockey players who were members of the Canada M20 team in 2018, according to information unveiled by TSN. The news was confirmed by Daniel Brown, Alex’s lawyer formed, the striker who had evolved with the HC Ambri-Piotta in 2002 and 2023.
On July 24, the judge of an Ontario court, Maria Carroccia, had acquitted, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Callan Fote accusations of sexual assault linked to a incident in June 2018 in a hotel in London (Ontario), following a Hockey Canada gala.
McLeod had also been accused (and bleached) of the chief participation in the crime of sexual assault.
The complainant “not credible or reliable”
Identified only by the initials EM, the complainant argued that she had been attacked for several hours after having voluntarily followed McLeod at the hotel.
At the end of a long and tumultuous trial, marked by reports and the dismissal of the jury and during which the question of consent was at the heart of the debates, the judge estimated the testimony of the complainant “not credible or reliable”. Heard for nine daysEM explained by the voice of her lawyer that she had wanted to “go to the end of the process”, despite a trying and “sometimes insulting” counter-examination.
Four players still active
Although acquired, the five hockey players are not for the moment eligible for reinstatement in the NHL. A choice challenged by the Association of Players (NHLPA). “The circuit could however change its rifle after the crown’s decision not to appeal the judgment,” writes elsewhere The Montreal Journal.
If Alex formed has hung up the skates and works full time in the construction field, Michael McLeod (KHL in 2024-2025), Carter Hart (inactive since the fall of 2023), Dillon Dubé (KHL in 2024-2025) and Callan Fote (Slovakia in 2024-2025) did not burial their ambitions to exercise their profession in the most. competitive world.
But will they find takers if they were to obtain the green light from the management of the NHL?
