The sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team will now continue with a judge alone rather than with a jury.
Jurors in the case were dismissed after one of them submitted a note to the judge saying some panel members felt defence lawyers for one of the accused were making fun of them.
The switch to a judge alone trial means the trial can continue rather than starting over with a new jury.
Several witnesses have already testified, including the complainant, who spent nine days on the stand and faced more than a week of intense cross-examination.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have 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 events at the heart of the case took place in June 2018 as several members of that year’s world junior hockey team were in London for a gala marking their championship win.
