The Hockey Canada sexual assault trial involving five former members of the 2018 World Junior hockey team resumed in a London, Ontario courtroom, with NHL forward Brett Howden facing a pointed cross-examination over what he witnessed during the alleged incident.
Carter Hart’s lawyer questions Brett Howden over what he saw in hotel room 209
Brett Howden, testifying remotely from Las Vegas where he now plays for the Golden Knights, was questioned by Megan Savard, the lawyer representing Carter Hart. Hart is accused of sexually assaulting a woman known as E.M., including receiving oral sex during the early morning of June 19, 2018, in room 209 of the Delta hotel.Savard pressed Howden on statements he gave in 2018, asking whether Hart initially seemed hesitant to accept E.M.’s offer. “The impression you got was that Mr. Hart didn’t really seem like he wanted to agree to oral sex at first,” she suggested. Howden agreed, citing Hart’s possible desire to “look cool in front of his teammates.”Savard further probed Howden’s recollection: “They like, kind of went to each other like it was 50/50… and then she gave him oral sex.” Howden confirmed that was his statement.
Brett Howden’s memory questioned over past head injury and forgotten details
In a strategic move, Savard also cast doubt on the reliability of Howden’s memory. She reminded the court that he suffered a severe head injury in March 2022 during a televised game, in which he lost consciousness for nine minutes and was stretchered off the ice.Howden acknowledged the injury and admitted, “I’ve never really had to remember, try to remember so many little details like this before. And it’s definitely gotten a lot harder over time.”Adding another layer to the proceedings, Justice Maria Carroccia dismissed a key text message sent by Howden to teammate Taylor Raddysh days after the alleged incident. In the message, Howden wrote, “Dude, I’m so happy I left when all the s–t went down… Duber was smacking this girl’s ass so hard.”Also Read: Florida Panthers get injury boost ahead of Game 4 as Paul Maurice reflects on playoff pressureThe judge ruled the message inadmissible, citing that Howden had “no present recollection” of the event and may not have been speaking from personal observation. As the trial continues, Howden remains a central witness, though not accused of any wrongdoing.
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