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THUNDER BAY – Former University of Ottawa hockey players David Foucher and Guillaume Donovan have been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Thunder Bay hotel room in 2014.
Ontario Court Justice Chantal M. Brochu delivered her verdict on Monday, slightly more than four months after hearing testimony from seven witnesses during a two-week French-language trial.
Monday’s verdict was the latest benchmark in the four-year-old saga that began in the late-night hours after an Ontario University Athletics men’s hockey game at Thunder Bay’s Fort William Gardens, forever changing the lives of not only Foucher and Donovan, but also the woman who testified she was sexually assaulted in a room at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre.
At trial, the woman, whose identity cannot be published, testified she met another member of the team, Taylor Collins, through an online dating app. After having consensual sex in his hotel room, she testified, she was sexually assaulted by the two accused. She vehemently denied consenting during cross-examination by a defence lawyer.
In March 2014, less than two weeks after the Gee-Gees’ season ended with a playoff loss against the Queen’s Gaels and one week after senior University of Ottawa officials learned of the sexual assault allegations, the men’s hockey program was suspended by the school.
In June, that suspension was extended through the 2014-15 academic year and hockey season and the team’s head coach was dismissed. Foucher and Donovan were charged in August.
The suspension of the program was extended again through 2015-16. Gee-Gees varsity men’s hockey only returned to action in 2016-17 with a new head coach and only one returning player.
Twenty-two other players from the 2013-14 roster — all except Foucher and Donovan — filed a class-action lawsuit claiming defamation through the university’s decision to suspend the program. A lawyer representing those former players confirmed last week that the lawsuit was continuing.
More to come.
gholder@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/HolderGord
查看原文...
Ontario Court Justice Chantal M. Brochu delivered her verdict on Monday, slightly more than four months after hearing testimony from seven witnesses during a two-week French-language trial.
Monday’s verdict was the latest benchmark in the four-year-old saga that began in the late-night hours after an Ontario University Athletics men’s hockey game at Thunder Bay’s Fort William Gardens, forever changing the lives of not only Foucher and Donovan, but also the woman who testified she was sexually assaulted in a room at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre.
At trial, the woman, whose identity cannot be published, testified she met another member of the team, Taylor Collins, through an online dating app. After having consensual sex in his hotel room, she testified, she was sexually assaulted by the two accused. She vehemently denied consenting during cross-examination by a defence lawyer.
In March 2014, less than two weeks after the Gee-Gees’ season ended with a playoff loss against the Queen’s Gaels and one week after senior University of Ottawa officials learned of the sexual assault allegations, the men’s hockey program was suspended by the school.
In June, that suspension was extended through the 2014-15 academic year and hockey season and the team’s head coach was dismissed. Foucher and Donovan were charged in August.
The suspension of the program was extended again through 2015-16. Gee-Gees varsity men’s hockey only returned to action in 2016-17 with a new head coach and only one returning player.
Twenty-two other players from the 2013-14 roster — all except Foucher and Donovan — filed a class-action lawsuit claiming defamation through the university’s decision to suspend the program. A lawyer representing those former players confirmed last week that the lawsuit was continuing.
More to come.
gholder@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/HolderGord
查看原文...
