EDITORIAL: Acquittal of hockey players right call

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We agree with Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia’s acquittal of five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team on charges of sexual assault stemming from their sexual conduct with a then 20-year-old woman in a London, Ont. hotel room on June 19, 2018.

Carroccia’s ruling, which she telegraphed early in her lengthy explanation on Thursday of the reasons for her decision — that the woman’s testimony was neither credible nor reliable and that the Crown had not proven the charges against the five accused beyond a reasonable doubt — was justified given the evidence at trial.

This included her finding that the woman — whose identity was protected and known only as E.M. — consented to the sexual acts with the men.

This does not mean the five accused — Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod — behaved admirably or honourably in their sexual conduct with E.M. or that the argument that “boys will be boys” excuses why they did.

In addition, Carroccia’s ruling applies to the evidence in this case. It’s not a ruling on the credibility of sexual assault allegations in general.

It does mean the Crown failed to achieve the high legal standard of proof required in a criminal trial — innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt — which exists because the freedom of the accused is at stake.

The case itself took a torturous journey to get to trial, in which there were no winners.

Before the incident was publicly known, London police initially investigated in 2019 and recommended no charges should be laid.

But it was revived in 2022 when TSN reported that Hockey Canada had quietly settled a civil lawsuit with E.M. — along with similar cases — using monies from a fund that was partially funded by hockey registration fees paid by parents.

That sparked political and public outrage, leading to parliamentary hearings and a re-opening of the criminal investigation by London police that led to the charges that Carroccia dismissed Thursday.

The trial was delayed twice — after two juries scheduled to hear the case were dismissed for legal reasons by Carroccia — before it proceeded by judge alone.

Had it been a jury trial, no explanation would have accompanied the verdict of either guilt or acquittal.