LONDON, Ont. – For the second court date in a row, the judge ruled Monday that a text exchange between two players who were in the room during an alleged sexual assault in 2018 is not admissible as evidence.
Justice Maria Carroccia ruled at the trial of five former NHLers accused of sexual assault that the text exchange between friends and 2018 Canada world juniors teammates Brett Howden and Taylor Raddysh was again not admissible because it was considered “hearsay.”
Lawyers for the five defendants maintained the text exchange was not reliable because Howden couldn’t remember the texts and might have been lying or exaggerating in the exchange with Raddysh. The judge agreed those concerns had merit.
In addition, Carroccia said in her ruling she had concerns about the accuracy of the text messages, especially in light of the fact they were not given under oath.
Howden and Raddysh have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
After the submission was denied on Friday, assistant Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham sought to have the text messages introduced via an alternative application. Carroccia shared her subsequent decision with the lawyers on both sides of the case on Sunday and read her reasons for the decision in court on Monday.
At the heart of the issue were texts in which Howden told Raddysh he saw Dillon Dube, one of the defendants, smacking “the girl’s (butt) so hard, it looked like it hurt so bad.”
“The only likely explanation for Mr. Howden sending that text message is that he was telling the truth and was accurately describing what he saw,” Cunningham said on Friday while making an argument to have the text messages entered into evidence. “Nothing else makes sense.”
Michael McLeod has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, including one relating to aiding in the offence. Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart have each been charged with one count of sexual assault. All have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
The trial, entering its sixth week, continues Monday.