London police to review sex assault probe

Victim alleges attacks by hockey players

LONDON, ONT. • London’s police chief has ordered an internal review of the force’s handling of two alleged instances of sexual assault involving hockey players more than four years ago, after a woman went public with complaints about the police investigation.

In a statement Friday afternoon, London police Chief Steve Williams responded to a story first reported by sports network TSN in which a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by two men in 2018, one of whom was a Western University hockey player and the other a minor league player.

“Given recent media reporting related to these matters, I have directed an internal review of the investigations. That review has commenced,” Williams said in a statement.

Williams confirmed London police investigated two allegations of sexual assault in September 2019 made by the same complainant. The allegations stemmed from incidents that took place in March 2018, Williams’ statement said. One investigation resulted in a sexual assault charge being laid.

“That charge went through the court process resulting in the issuance of a peace bond. Charges were not laid in relation to the other investigation,” Williams said in the statement.

TSN reported Thursday that the unidentified woman said London police discouraged her from pursuing charges in both cases and was hoping the department would reopen the investigation in the wake of the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal stemming from allegations of a gang sex assault by members of the national junior team during an event in London in 2018.

Neither of the hockey players in the latest allegations is believed to be connected to the alleged June 2018 group assault in London, TSN reported.

That case only came to light in May, also in a TSN report, after the woman who alleged she was assaulted reached an out-ofcourt settlement with Hockey Canada in a $3.5-million lawsuit.

It’s one of two cases that have kept Hockey Canada under a harsh public spotlight for months now, involving parliamentary hearings, corporate sponsors withdrawing their support, calls for Hockey Canada’s leaders to resign and, ultimately, the mass departure this week of the organization’s board of directors and chief executive.

London police closed their investigation into the alleged group sexual assault in 2019 without laying charges, but three months ago reopened it after a review.

Neither of the two men accused in the March 2018 incident was identified in the TSN report, which quoted the woman describing a sexual assault at the home of the parents of a Western hockey player she had been dating and, later the same day, at her home by a minor league player. Saying she feared for her safety, she did not report the allegations to authorities until after she saw the men in a restaurant more than a year later.

Williams said the department conducts sexual assault investigations in a way that respects the wishes of complainants.

“In all cases except those dealing with intimate partners, victims are given the choice as to whether they wish to proceed with charges or not,” Williams’ statement said.

“Where a victim has declined to proceed with a charge, the investigation is finalized with the option to reopen the investigation at a later date should the victim change their mind.”

The woman told TSN she was contacted by a Crown attorney in May 2020 and was told the Western hockey player would sign a peace bond. Under the bond, dated June 2, 2020, the player agreed to pay a $500 fine and not to communicate with the woman, be within 25 metres of her or within 200 metres of her home, work or school, TSN reported.

The unnamed Western hockey player, a student at Western affiliate King’s University College, was expelled for one and a half years in November 2019 after an investigation by a third-party lawyer retained by the university, TSN reported.

Dave Malloy, president at King’s, said the student in the case appealed the suspension but that appeal was denied.

The student was also removed from Western’s hockey team.

“We take this very seriously and we took it very seriously. We have a policy in place and we follow it. We offered counselling to the victim, we have a robust policy and we take this issue very seriously,” said Malloy.

The London police services board chair declined to comment Friday, citing the “specific and active investigations” cited in the TSN report.

GIVEN RECENT MEDIA REPORTING ... I HAVE DIRECTED AN INTERNAL REVIEW OF THE INVESTIGATIONS.