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Warning: coverage of the Hockey Canada trial includes graphic details of alleged sexual assault that may be disturbing to readers.<\/p>\n
The judge in the world junior sexual assault trial ruled again Monday that text messages sent between Brett Howden and teammate Taylor Raddysh<\/a> on June 19, 2018, are inadmissible in court.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Crown had submitted a hearsay application on Friday to have these texts analyzed further through a cross-examination of Howden by the Crown. The text messages in question feature Howden discussing with Raddysh about how their world junior teammate, Dillon Dube, \u201cwas smacking this girl\u2019s ass so hard\u201d and that \u201cit looks like it hurt so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Dube is one of five members of Canada\u2019s 2018 World Junior Championship team each facing a charge of sexual assault<\/a> in relation to a June 2018 incident in which a woman, referred to in court documents as E.M., alleges she was sexually assaulted in a London, Ont., hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala. The other four accused are Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote.<\/p>\n All five men pleaded not guilty to their charges, with McLeod pleading not guilty to an additional charge of sexual assault as party to the offense. Howden<\/a> and Raddysh<\/a> have been witnesses in the trial and are not accused of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n The presiding judge, Justice Maria Carroccia, explained the \u201ctruth\u201d and \u201creliability\u201d of the text messages could not be confirmed. Additionally, she said details in the texts weren\u2019t said under oath or while being recorded, unlike traditional admissible statements.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Crown had put forth two other applications to have these texts examined further as evidence<\/a>, but with this last application ruled against, that was the last chance.<\/p>\n