A former member of the Ottawa Senators and Canada’s world junior hockey staff has turned himself into police in London, Ont., in reference to the alleged sexual assault of a lady in 2018.
Alex Formenton walked into the police headquarters Sunday morning accompanied by his attorneys.
Formenton is allegedly amongst 5 gamers from Canada’s 2018 World Juniors hockey staff who’ve been requested to give up to police to face sexual assault expenses after a lady alleged she was assaulted in a resort room following a gala occasion in London in June 2018.
“Alex will vigorously defend his innocence and asks that folks not rush to judgment with out listening to all the proof,” learn a press release from his lawyer Daniel Brown, with out moving into the specifics of the fees.
Formenton, who took a go away of absence final week from the Swiss hockey membership he has been enjoying for this season, final performed for the Senators within the 2021-22 season.
Police in London are scheduled to talk publicly in regards to the expenses on Feb. 5.
The gamers surrendering would mark the primary time police have laid any expenses in a scandal surrounding Hockey Canada that started gathering nationwide media consideration almost two years in the past.
The governing physique got here below a firestorm of criticism when information broke within the spring of 2022 {that a} lady alleged eight gamers — together with members of the 2018 world junior staff — sexually assaulted her in a resort room following a gala occasion in London in June 2018.
The girl who made the allegation was looking for greater than $3.5 million in damages from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and the unnamed gamers. Hockey Canada settled the case for an undisclosed quantity.
A 12 months in the past, London police filed an software with the Ontario Court docket of Justice stating they’d affordable grounds to imagine 5 members of the 2018 staff had sexually assaulted a lady.
Not one of the allegations have been confirmed in court docket.
Recordsdata from The Canadian Press have been used on this report