The London Police Service announced Friday it is reopening its criminal investigation into June 2018 allegations of sexual assault involving members of the 2017-18 Canadian world junior team.
The decision comes just two days after London police chief Steve Williams released a statement saying he had ordered an internal review of the investigation, which commenced shortly after the alleged incident and concluded in February 2019 without criminal charges being laid. The focus of this week’s review was to determine whether any further investigative avenues were available to pursue in the case.
“A team of investigators were assigned and have conducted a preliminary review,” Williams said Friday via the statement. “Through this review, they have determined there are further investigative opportunities available to us, and as such, the criminal investigation has been re-opened to allow those opportunities to be explored.”
News of the alleged incident first came to light in May after Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted in a London hotel room in June 2018 by eight CHL players, including members of the 2017-18 Canadian world junior team. Hockey Canada announced last week it was reopening its own third-party investigation into the matter.
Williams also said that, upon the conclusion of the re-opened investigation, the London Police Service “would welcome a review by the London’s Violence Against Women Community Advocacy Group.”