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Soon after her encounter with McLeod,听a prosecutor told a London jury,听up to 10 men filed into the standard-sized room at the Delta Armouries hotel and the young woman 鈥� intoxicated, naked and separated from her friends at the bar 鈥� felt she had no choice but to go along with what the men wanted to do, including oral sex and vaginal intercourse.

What happened in that room in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018, would ultimately lead to sexual assault charges being laid against five members of Canada鈥檚 2018 world junior championship team, four of whom were playing in the NHL at the time of their arrests last year: McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dub茅, and Cal Foote.听

McLeod, who the Crown says texted his teammates about a 鈥渢hree-way鈥� in his room, was also charged with being a party to a sexual assault, for allegedly encouraging his teammates to engage in sex acts with the complainant when he knew she wasn鈥檛 consenting.听

The men, who now range in age from 25 to 27, have pleaded not guilty.听

On Wednesday, Crown attorney Heather Donkers outlined the prosecution鈥檚 case to a jury of 11 women and three men. She made public for the first time the graphic details behind the criminal allegations in a case that has attracted widespread public attention and led to a reckoning about the handling of sexual misconduct allegations in professional sports.听

Those allegations include that McLeod had vaginal intercourse with the complainant a second time (the Crown stated that the first sexual encounter after getting back from the bar 鈥渋s not the subject of this trial鈥�); that Formenton engaged in intercourse as well, but in the bathroom; McLeod, Hart and Dub茅 obtained oral sex; Dub茅 slapped the complainant鈥檚 naked buttocks; and Foote did the 鈥渟plits鈥� over the woman while she lay on the ground, 鈥済razing his genitals over her face.鈥澨�

All without her consent, the Crown alleges.听

The complainant, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, is expected to testify in the coming days. What she is not expected to say to the jury, Donkers told them, is that she said 鈥渘o鈥� to the specific sexual acts. Nor is she expected to say she was physically resisting. The jury will also be shown brief video clips taken of the complainant in the room that night by McLeod, in which she makes broad statements, including: 鈥淚t was all consensual.鈥澨�

Donkers urged jurors to listen carefully to the complainant鈥檚 testimony when she takes the stand, as well as to Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia鈥檚 legal instructions on consent at the end of the trial.听

鈥淲e anticipate that you will hear (the complainant) testify that when she was in this hotel room, age 20, intoxicated, and a group of large men that she did not know were speaking to each other as if she was not there and then they started telling her to do certain things, she did not feel that she had a choice in the matter,鈥� said Donkers, who is prosecuting the case with Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham, the chair of the Crown office鈥檚 sexual violence advisory group.听

鈥淥n occasion, she tried to leave the room but the men coaxed her into staying. And so, she found herself going through the motions, just trying to get through the night by doing and saying what she believed that they wanted.鈥澨�

The Crown also expects the jury will hear that the accused men took no steps to ensure they had the complainant鈥檚 鈥渁ffirmative consent鈥� when they touched her sexually.

鈥淚nstead, they just did what they wanted,鈥� Donkers said.听

The jury is expected to hear from some witnesses that the complainant was at times offering to perform sexual acts or asking whether anyone was going to have sex with her, Donkers said.听

But the complainant is expected to testify that she was just 鈥済oing along with what the men in the room wanted 鈥� what she felt they expected of her 鈥� because she was drunk, uncomfortable, and she did not know what would happen if she did anything else.鈥�

The championship team, which had won gold a few months earlier, was in London in June 2018 to attend the Hockey Canada Foundation鈥檚 annual Gala & Golf fundraising event. The five players鈥� high-profile trial is playing out in the London courthouse鈥檚 largest courtroom, where the accused men are seated at separate tables with their legal teams. Some of their family members watched the proceedings from the public gallery on Wednesday.听

All but Formenton were playing in the NHL when they were arrested in January 2024: McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Hart with the Philadelphia Flyers, and Dub茅 with the Calgary Flames. Formenton, who previously played with the Ottawa Senators, was with Swiss team HC Ambri-Piotta. During jury selection on Tuesday, Carroccia asked prospective jurors a number of questions, including whether they had any 鈥渙pinions or beliefs about hockey players鈥� that may impact their ability to judge the case without bias.听

鈥淭his case is about whether (the complainant) voluntarily agreed to engage in each and every instance of sexual touching that took place, at the time that they happened,鈥� Donkers told the jury Wednesday.听

鈥淎t the end of this trial, we will ask you to find each of the five defendants guilty of sexual assault because they touched (the complainant) sexually without her voluntary agreement to each act when it took place.鈥澨�

Police were contacted shortly after the incident in 2018, Donkers told the jury. She said they will hear that there was a group chat between some of the players, including all five accused men, discussing the events of that night and 鈥渁bout making sure they all said the same thing to investigators.鈥� The Crown also alleges that Foote and Dub茅 called players, asking them to leave out specific things about what they did in the room.听

Also around the same time, McLeod was texting the complainant, Donkers said. The jury is expected to hear that one of the texts said: 鈥淲hat can you do to make this go away?鈥�