Woman At Center Of Hockey Canada Scandal Breaks Silence

EM, the woman who filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada over alleged gang sexual assault by some members of Canada’s world junior hockey team in 2018, says she has felt “vulnerable and exposed” since news of her allegations broke before two months. “This is something I never wanted to draw attention to,” he said in a brief interview with The Globe and Mail on Monday. “I just wanted consequences for actions and some accountability.” EM filed its statement of claim on April 20, 2022. Hockey Canada settled the case by May 24, 2022, and two days later, news of that settlement became public, something EM says it never wanted to happen. Since then, the story has become a national scandal. Throughout, the woman, identified only as EM, remained silent, not wanting to fan the flames further. “It was difficult to see the events told in pieces and not as a whole,” he told The Globe. Hockey Canada’s sexual assault scandal has far-reaching implications across the country. Here’s what you need to know Hockey Canada has promised sexual consent training for its players. What does this entail? Hockey Canada’s handling of her complaint has been the subject of federal hearings and a renewed criminal investigation by the London Police Service. The National Hockey League launched its own investigation. Hockey Canada has revived a previously dormant independent review. And The Globe revealed the existence of the National Equity Fund, a special multi-million dollar fund created through player registration fees that Hockey Canada has used to settle sexual assault lawsuits. Rob Talach, EM’s attorney, says watching the coverage of his client’s complaint has been frustrating to see misinformation spread that she didn’t cooperate with police. Some of that came from Hockey Canada. When TSN first reported the settlement in May, hockey’s national governing body released a statement indicating it learned of the allegations four years ago and hired law firm Henein Hutchison to investigate, but “the individual who raised the charges chose not to speak to either police or Hockey Canada’s independent investigator and also chose not to identify the players involved. That was her right and we fully respect her wishes.” But that was not true, Mr. Talach said. EM cooperated in 2018 and continues to cooperate today, he said. (Hockey Canada corrected its statement about the police after being contacted by Mr. Talach.) In fact, with the London Police Service recently reopening its complaint, E.M. met with detectives last week. And on Thursday, he took a private polygraph exam, the results of which were shared with The Globe. Mr Talach says it was important for EM to take the stand because of recent indications that he had not been entirely truthful in his telling of the facts. The polygraph test, which was arranged and paid for by EM’s legal team, was conducted by Zaia Lazar, a forensic polygraph examiner with Business of Truth Polygraph Services. According to a biography included in the polygraph report, Mr Lazar was a police officer with the London Police Service from 1992 to 2014 and a polygraph examiner with the force from 2006 to 2011. Mr. Lazar was given the summary of the case and a copy of E.M.’s testimony. He then asked her if she had lied to him about her statement, that it was misleading, and if she had given even one false account. The document describing the results of the examination stated that the examiner found “that [E.M.] was honest when he answered ‘no’ to the relevant questions.” In Canada, polygraph results are not admissible as evidence of a person’s credibility in a criminal trial. The true outcome of EM also could not speak to the question of whether the hockey players honestly and reasonably believed he was consenting. But in a case that has largely played out in the public arena, it’s an extra layer of information that EM wanted to contribute, Mr. Talach said. (The Globe reached out to lawyers representing some of the players Monday afternoon and did not hear back.) It has been reported that EM’s settlement agreement included a confidentiality clause. The details of what she is allowed to disclose are unknown, and neither she nor Mr. Talach would discuss the deal or the details of the alleged assault. However, her version of events is included in her statement of claim. In that document, which has not been tested in court, EM said that on June 18, 2018, she went to a bar in London. While there, he ran into one of the hockey players and some of his teammates, who were in town for a Hockey Canada gala held earlier in the day. The player and his teammates bought her drinks and shots and she became increasingly drunk, the claim says. At one point, she left the bar with the first player, returned to his hotel room and engaged in consensual sexual activity. But then, according to the claim, the first player called his teammates into the room without E.M.’s knowledge. She claims that for several hours afterward, she was sexually assaulted and assaulted. In her claim, EM said she was terrified and agreed to their demands, sometimes crying and trying to leave, but the players then “directed, manipulated and intimidated” her into staying, the lawsuit alleges. Two weeks ago, lawyers representing some of the players showed The Globe two videos recorded the night of the alleged assault. Lawyers say the video shows the sex was consensual and that EM was not scared, intimidated or drunk, as she claimed. The first clip, shot at 3:25 a.m., is six seconds long and shows her from the neck up. A male voice is heard saying, “Are you okay with this?” “I’m fine with that,” EM replies. In the second video, shot at 4:26 a.m., she covers herself with a towel in a hotel room: “Are you recording me?” she asks. “Okay fine. It was all consensual. You’re so paranoid, holy man. I enjoyed it, it was fine. It was all consensual. I’m so sober that’s why I can’t do it right now.” When The Globe published the story, EM and Mr. Talach declined to comment, but the fact that these details were made public filled her with dread, she said. “Giving the videos to the media could be seen by some as an attack on her credibility,” Mr Talach said, adding that was part of the reason he wanted to take the lie detector test. “He wanted to go that extra step to do everything he could to prove he’s telling the truth.” Mr. Talach noted that the videos from the evening are not proof of consent – ​​which in Canada must be given at the time of intercourse – and instead represent a moment in time that lacks the overall context of the evening. “In my view, I think few at the end of a romantic endeavor feel the need to document their partner’s consent, unless one has doubts about the validity of that consent in the first place,” Mr Talach said. Lawyers for some of the players also presented a series of text messages to The Globe between EM and one of the players. Just over a day after the incident, one of the players texted EM to ask if she had gone to the police. According to those texts, EM told the player that her mother had called the police against her wishes. “You said you were having fun,” the player wrote. “I was really drunk, I didn’t feel good at all afterwards. But I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble,” she replied. “I was fine with going home with you, it was everyone else after that I wasn’t expecting. I just felt like I was being mocked and taken advantage of.” He later replied: “You need to talk to your mother right now and sort things out with the police before this gets too far. This is a serious misrepresentation and could have significant implications for many people, including you.” EM told the player that she had contacted the police, told them it was a mistake and that she did not want to pursue the complaint. In fact, Mr. Talach said, EM spent a few days considering its options, but decided to go ahead. On June 22, E.M. he went to London police headquarters and spoke to a detective. That same day, she went to the hospital for a physical and later gave her clothes from the night of the alleged assault to investigators. As early as June 24, he made it clear he wanted the police to press charges and two days later met with the police again, Mr Talach said. She spoke to police again in August 2018. Finally in February 2019, she was told no charges would be filed. Mr Talach says EM was not surprised by this development, given the time that had passed, but it was a setback in her recovery and delayed her decision to pursue a civil trial. “When a victim takes a step, no matter the step, and it’s unsuccessful — whether it’s telling a partner or going to the police — it just exponentially increases the delay until they act again,” he said, referring to the three-year delay. between the completion of the initial police investigation and her prosecution. One thing EM won’t do is sit for an interview with Hockey Canada or NHL investigators, Mr. Talach said. “He has given an eight-page statement with an additional five pages of photographs and 4½ pages of written messages. He has already initiated civil proceedings and spoken to the police on several occasions. So how many times does he have to do this?’ he said. They also gave the polygraph to Hockey Canada and the NHL and will send it to police as…