A Canadian Game in Which ‘No’ Means ‘Yes’
As sure as autumn brings cool days, so does each year’s junior hockey season bring new sexual allegations. That few cases make it to court and even fewer to conviction speaks to the emphasis the judicial system puts on the “credibility” of the plaintiff and the extraordinary support local heroes receive from town power brokers.
Tyler / Flickr (CC-BY-SA)
1
2
All three of the girls went to the police. All three have terrifically supportive mothers. Shockingly, they had to travel to another town for the rape kit to be administered; for reasons unknown, their own hospital didn’t do the procedure.
It seemed everyone at their high school was talking about what had happened when they looked at their phones Monday morning. Anne couldn’t stomach going. Susan’s mother received a call from the school—something terribly wrong was happening on social media that involved her daughter. Others who had been at the party believed something seriously wrong had happened to the three girls, who were receiving worried texts asking them what they would do next. That concern, however, disappeared when it came to giving the police statements.
When the police eventually went to the house, they said they found a small bag of vitamin supplements. The larger bag that the girls made separate statements about was never found. All three girls say other partygoers did not intervene that night, despite what they must have seen. As witnesses, these partygoers told the police there were no problems—just a bit too much to drink.
“The criminal investigation branch did a thorough and detailed investigation,” Lynda Cranney, of the Ontario Provincial Police Central Region media unit said. “Upon completion of their investigation, after consultation with the Crown Attorney’s office, it’s been determined there are no reasonable grounds that exist to lay criminal charges at this point.”
It was impossible for Susan and the two other girls to attend school once “the word” got out. “Not only did people think we consented to what was done to us, but they think we lied about it later. It was absolutely awful,” says Susan.
The school was very supportive, and all three ended up with tutors at home for the rest of the year while the players attended class. When the 2015-16 school year started, Anne and Susan returned, while their friend, like many other girls who have reported hockey players to no avail, moved away.
Susan and Anne will move to postsecondary studies in the fall. Anne is studying criminal justice. The families say if there is any “upside” to the ordeal their daughters have endured, it is that they have become committed to ensuring rape-free cultures, and they have become very close. “I’ve got another daughter out of this,” says one of the mothers.
She added that she’s actually glad no charges were laid, because she would not have subjected her daughter to a “justice” system that questions the sexual mores and motives of the plaintiff. In Canada, for every 1,000 women who are sexually assaulted, 12 will go to court and there will be, on average, two convictions.
Meanwhile, Cobourg hosted the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in December 2015. Mayor Gil Brocanier was all smiles as he welcomed young international stars, posing with a giant ticket to the first game. Another hockey season was about to commence.
As this year’s season wraps up, a case in western Ontario was overturned and a new trial ordered. On April 28, two sexual assault convictions against hockey player Mitch Vandergunst were overturned in the province’s Court of Appeal. The judge cited “inconsistencies” in the victim’s evidence, which concerned two sexual assault allegations made by a woman in July 2013, when Vandergunst was a junior with the Stratford Ontario Cullitons. Club President Dan Mathieson, who is also the town’s mayor, said he did not know Vandergunst had been convicted by a lower court when he was made assistant captain in the 2014-15 season. Vandergunst was suspended from the team only in February 2015, when he was sentenced to one year in jail. This was the sentence he just successfully appealed. While waiting for his appeal to be decided, Vandergunst played for a neighboring senior team, the Clinton Radars.
The plaintiff, in her victim impact statement, said there was no way she could have imagined how “one night could bring such destruction to my life … I will never be the same person I was.” The Crown has not declared whether it will prepare for a new trial or drop the charges altogether.
Laura Robinson is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker and author. In 1992 she was the first Canadian journalist to
write about sexual abuse in sport.
Your support matters…
SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Related stories
Websites matching up rich men with young women claim to offer a mutually beneficial service. In reality, they promote sex work in disguise.
Even in countries that value press freedom, women are routinely subjected to threats of rape and other forms of online abuse.
Poverty and high rates of unemployment contribute to brutality against women in this southwestern African country.
Two young women from Berkeley watched their assailant walk free in 2008. State Sen. Connie Leyva wants to make sure it never happens again.
The effects of intimate-partner violence are a factor in more than a quarter of female suicides or suicide attempts, one study shows. They are also a leading cause of substance abuse in women.
Sexual abuse by members of organizations that provide relief to some of the world’s most vulnerable people has been more pervasive than recently reported.
Websites matching up rich men with young women claim to offer a mutually beneficial service. In reality, they promote sex work in disguise.
Even in countries that value press freedom, women are routinely subjected to threats of rape and other forms of online abuse.
Poverty and high rates of unemployment contribute to brutality against women in this southwestern African country.
Two young women from Berkeley watched their assailant walk free in 2008. State Sen. Connie Leyva wants to make sure it never happens again.
The effects of intimate-partner violence are a factor in more than a quarter of female suicides or suicide attempts, one study shows. They are also a leading cause of substance abuse in women.
Sexual abuse by members of organizations that provide relief to some of the world’s most vulnerable people has been more pervasive than recently reported.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.