LIVE: London police address Hockey Canada sexual assault allegations | Maqvi News

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A long-awaited London police press conference on their probe into the 2018 Canadian world junior team’s alleged sexual assault case will begin at 2 p.m.

Published Feb 05, 2024 • Last updated 1 minute ago • 3 minute read

Satellite trucks were lined up outside RBC Place convention centre ahead of a London police press conference on Monday Feb. 5, 2024. Mike Hensen/The London Free Press

A long-awaited London police press conference on their probe into the 2018 Canadian world junior team members’ alleged sexual assault case is set to begin at 2 p.m. LFP’s Jack Moulton and a team of journalists is providing live coverage below:

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2:05 p.m. Chief Truong: The charges come from a review ordered in 2022 by then-Chief Steve Williams. Truong said he will use the term “victim” in accordance with her wishes, as opposed to, say, complainant. The initial probe was closed without charges in 2019. Upon review “we have found sufficient grounds” to criminally charge five men.

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2:03 p.m. Sgt. Sandasha Bough, London police spokesperson, introducing Det.-Sgt. Dann and Chief Truong before they speak. “Please hold all of our questions until the end of the press conference.”

1:50 p.m. Remember, today marks the first step in a potentially long legal path. Experts have said it could be 2026 before this matter goes to trial. This morning’s court appearance was relatively routine, and the next scheduled appearance, April 30, may be similar.

1:35 p.m: The police press conference can be watched live here. Again, it’s scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

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1:30 p.m. News outlets who’ve sent reporters to London to cover this press conference include CP24, the Globe and Mail, the Athletic and the Toronto Star. By one unofficial count, there are 74 journalists in attendance.

1:24 p.m. When London police last week announced plans for this press conference, they noted Chief Thai Truong and Det-Sgt. Katherine Dann of the sexual assault and child abuse unit would speak. There will be questions, police officials confirm, though they’ve not set a firm limit on how many.

1:20 p.m. A reminder, these are the five members of Canada’s gold-winning 2018 world junior team who are criminally charged with sexual assault:

Dillon Dube, 25, of Calgary, a forward for the Calgary Flames.
Cal Foote, 25, of Denver, Colo., a New Jersey Devils defenceman and son of Hockey Hall of Famer Adam Foote.
Alex Formenton, 24, of Barrie, a former London Knights player drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2017 who has spent the last two seasons playing pro in Switzerland.
Carter Hart, 25, of Cherry Hill, N.J., an Alberta native and the No. 1 goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Michael McLeod, 25, of Mississauga, a centre for the New Jersey Devils. McLeod is charged with an additional count of sexual assault “by being a party to the offence.”

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1:18 p.m.: Not immediately clear to us that police officials would take questions, but there are microphones set up on either side of the room – so perhaps they will. Here is a look inside the convention centre set-up:

presser — Journalists gather for a London police press conference at RBC Place convention centre in London on Feb. 5, 2024. Jack Moulton/The London Free Press

1:12 p.m: During this morning’s court proceedings, the media outlets monitoring via Zoom included ESPN, the New York Times and Fox News.

1:07 p.m:

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1:00 p.m.: London police will address reporters at RBC Place, the convention centre, a venue that reflect the news media’s massive interest in this investigation. We don’t ever recall seeing this before in London.