Defence grills NHLer, appears to target his credibility at sex assault trial of ex-world junior teammates
- The sexual assault trial of five former Hockey Canada world junior players continues in Ontario Superior Court in London today.
- Brett Howden, an ex-teammate and now a centre for the Vegas Golden Knights, is expected to finish testifying.
- Howden has told the Crown and defence teams that he’s forgotten many details he previously provided to police and Hockey Canada investigators.
- Howden’s testimony, and subsequent legal wrangling over a 2018 text exchange that was ultimately ruled inadmissible as evidence, may have complicated the Crown’s case against at least one defendant, legal observers told CBC News.
- Later today, we expect to begin hearing from retired London Police Service sergeant Steve Newton.
- The accused — Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod — have all pleaded not guilty to the alleged sexual assaults involving the complainant, E.M., at a hotel in June 2018.
- WARNING: Court proceedings include graphic details of alleged sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who's been affected.
- Kate Dubinski
Howden was asked by Hockey Canada investigators about Dillon Dubé calling him in 2018 to keep Dubé’s name out of Howden’s statements to investigators back then, Greenspan says.
In 2022, Howden was asked by investigators if anyone else called back then, the lawyer adds.
That’s when he “threw out” Cal Foote’s name to “give some explanation” because he didn’t mention Foote originally, Greenspan suggests. Howden disagrees.
Greenspan suggests Foote never actually called Howden, and Howden made that up to explain why he never mentioned Foote when he initially spoke to investigators. Howden again disagrees.
“I’m going to say that what you said in 2022 was not correct. Do you agree or no?” Greenspan asks.
“I don’t agree with you, no,” Howden replies.
All the lawyers have now ended their cross-examinations of Howden.
- Kate Dubinski
In 2022, Howden learns a lawsuit against Hockey Canada that was launched by E.M., and names eight John Doe defendants, has been settled.
By then, Greenspan says, Howden is in the NHL, is married and has “started to develop a reputation in your professional world.”
Greenspan suggests Howden also realizes there are allegations in the lawsuit of sexual acts that he didn’t mention to Hockey Canada investigators in 2018. Hockey Canada is threatening players with “naming and shaming” if they don’t participate in more interviews with Hockey Canada in 2022, Greenspan says.
Howden agrees that in 2022, he was worried and afraid for his career, perhaps even more than he was in 2018.
- Kate Dubinski
In 2023, Howden is interviewed by London police after they reopen the sexual assault investigation.
He tells officers something similar, that he doesn’t really remember the woman in the hotel room from Jack’s bar.
He also tells officers he remembers “glancing at her at the bar and that was really just it.”
Greenspan says he never really thought he did anything wrong at Jack’s or in the hotel room, and that he was minimizing his contact with E.M. to reduce damage to his reputation and career.
Howden says he was worried about the damage, but he’s telling the truth to the best of his recollection.
- Kate Dubinski
On July 3, 2018, Howden was interviewed by investigators hired by Hockey Canada.
He was asked if he remembers the woman from Room 209 from earlier in the night, at Jack’s.
He told Hockey Canada, “I remember seeing her in the middle of the dance floor, but that’s the first time I’ve ever seen her…. I was dancing with the girls, she was part of the mixture. I never said anything to her really.”
Greenspan says that’s not at all what the video shows and he is minimizing his interaction with E.M.
Howden says it was just a few minutes of a long night and he didn’t remember seeing E.M.
“I don’t think that it’s fair that a couple minutes out of a whole night, that you just expect me to know this girl that I’ve met for the first time in my life.”
“I guess things aren’t fair, are they?” Greenspan retorts.
- Kate Dubinski
Brett Howden testifying remotely from Las Vegas. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC) The video of the dance floor shows Howden dancing “in close contact” with E.M., Greenspan says.
Howden spins E.M. around, they appear to hold hands, and at one point she has her backside against his front, dancing closely.
“You’re holding hands?” Greenspan asks him.
“I’m just saying what I seen (sic) and I didn’t see us holding hands,” Howden answers.
“You’re leaning down, either kissing her neck or right in her neck space?” Greenspan asks.
“I don’t think that’s fair to say that. I think it’s hard to see what I’m doing,” he replies.
Greenspan plays the video again, confirming the two are dancing closely together.
“It’s not a criticism of your conduct at all that evening. I want you to identify that you had pretty close contact with her on the dance floor,” Greenspan tells him.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says.
He agrees they talked and danced, and he introduced her to McLeod, and then danced again with her.
- Kate Dubinski
Court is now watching a video from the back bar at Jack’s.
In the footage, Howden appears to leave his drink at the bar with E.M. and go off, presumably to get McLeod, Greenspan says, and then comes back several seconds later with McLeod.
Right before he went to the bar with E.M., Howden was on the dance floor with her. Greenspan is showing that video to Howden and the court.
- Kate Dubinski
Cal Foote’s lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, resumes cross-examining Brett Howden, who introduced his world junior hockey teammate McLeod to E.M.
Yesterday, we watched a video of McLeod and Howden dancing with E.M., very closely, and Howden smacking E.M.’s buttocks several times after they’d stopped dancing.
- Lucas Powers
I’m a producer based in Toronto and I’ll be curating our live page today.
Our team of reporters is back in court in London, Ont., to cover all the latest developments from the trial.
If you’d like to get up to speed on everything that happened yesterday, click here.
Court is expected to get underway around 10 a.m. ET.
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