EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains details that may be graphic. Reader discretion is advised.
The female complainant in the high-profile world junior sexual assault trial says she is “saying my truth” as she faces questions over her choice of words.
The 27-year-old woman, whose identity is protected under a standard publication ban, returned to the stand for the fifth consecutive day Thursday in the trial of Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote.
All five men have pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault stemming from what the Crown alleges was non-consensual group sex in June 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
The men’s defence lawyers can each question the woman, who has been appearing virtually inside a London, Ont., courtroom. McLeod’s lawyer, David Humphrey, told court Wednesday that the defence would try their best not to overlap with each other during cross-examination.
Hart’s lawyer, Megan Savard, continued her questioning of the woman, known as E.M. in court documents, on Thursday and focused on the words she used while giving her testimony on Monday.
Savard said the first time E.M. ever mentioned that any of men who were in McLeod’s hotel room in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018, said, “Oh, she’s crying – don’t let her leave” was when she was being cross-examined by Humphrey on Monday.
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In her 2018 statement to London police, Savard said E.M. said the men told her: “Don’t leave.”
Savard said, “don’t let her leave” sounds “much more criminal” than E.M.’s previous phrasing of what was allegedly said.
In a tense exchange, the complainant, who has testified she was drunk and not of a clear mind that night, pushed back. She said while Monday was the first time she said those words out loud, that was the feeling she’s always had, and was never asked by investigators what the accused exactly said.
“I was only 20,” she said, adding she was speaking to police in 2018 with language she was comfortable with.
Savard suggested E.M. was “twisting” her words over time, which the complainant denied.
“I am saying my truth, my story. … I have no reason to come up with a worse version.”
On Wednesday, Savard questioned the woman’s memory and tried to show inconsistencies in statements she has given over the years, suggesting she had “different degrees of care with different investigations,” including two investigations by London police and a separate one launched by Hockey Canada.
The complainant had a hard time recalling specific moments when certain statements were made, adding that at points throughout the years, she was just getting things done because she didn’t want to relive the experience.
Savard suggested the explanations for her “inaccuracies” in those statements were false, which the complainant denied.
The woman agreed with Savard under cross-examination that she took on a “porn star persona” as a coping mechanism with the men while in McLeod’s room at the Delta hotel on June 19.
The complainant, who broke down in tears towards the end of the day, said that was the role the men were putting her into, and she believed she wouldn’t be able to leave unless she did what they wanted. She has said the men didn’t physically keep her from leaving, but allegedly coaxed her into staying.
All of the accused were part of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team and were in London for events marking their gold-medal performance at that year’s championship.
Before the alleged incident unfolded, E.M. had consensual sex with McLeod in his room after meeting him and his teammates at a downtown bar on June 18.
After Savard wrapped up her questioning, Formenton’s lawyer Dan Brown began his cross-examination.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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