A mistrial has been declared in the sexual assault case involving five former world junior hockey players.
The trial had begun on Wednesday, but jurors were dismissed early after the judge said something had come up that she needed to discuss with the lawyers.
The jurors were called back on Friday, and a mistrial was declared.
The ruling means a new trial will be held for Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote, who have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
The charges relate to an alleged incident that occurred in a London, Ont. hotel room in June 2018.
The dismissal of the jury happened after brief testimony from a detective with London Police, who was beginning to discuss the layout of Jack’s Bar. This is where the complainant met Michael McLeod, one of the five players on trial, before going back to a hotel room in the city in June 2018
According to the Crown’s opening submission on Wednesday, McLeod allegedly invited several teammates to his room, where a number of sexual acts occurred involving the complainant over the course of a few hours.
Each of the five accused players is alleged to have had sexual contact with the woman without her voluntarily agreeing to those specific acts.
The trial was expected to last about eight weeks.
