"This was all consensual": Video of woman alleging sexual assault presented at Hockey Canada trial, prosecutors say she was pressured to comply

The sexual assault trial of five former players from Hockey Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team continued on Wednesday, with jurors examining hotel security recordings, cellphone videos, and photographs gathered during the investigation.

According to Rick Westhead of TSN, Assistant Crown Prosecutor Heather Donkers presented the collection of evidence, with London Police Detective Tiffany Waque explaining each item.

Among the videos presented as evidence, one was taken from the phone of Michael McLeod, one of the accused players, and reportedly showed an off-camera male asking the accuser if she was at ease.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” the woman, identified as E.M. in the investigation, reportedly said.

Another video taken about an hour later from McLeod's phone allegedly depicted E.M. with a towel around her midsection.

"This was all consensual,” E.M. reportedly said. “I enjoyed it. Are you filming this? You are so paranoid. I’m so sober — that’s why I can’t do this right now."

However, according to Prosecutor Donkers, the woman wasn't consenting but instead complying because she felt pressured due to the environment she was in.

“We anticipate that you will hear (the complainant) testify that when she was in this hotel room, age 20, intoxicated, and a group of large men that she did not know were speaking to each other as if she was not there and then they started telling her to do certain things, she did not feel that she had a choice in the matter,” Donkers said.

“On occasion, she tried to leave the room, but the men coaxed her into staying. And so, she found herself going through the motions, just trying to get through the night by doing and saying what she believed that they wanted.”

Text messages from that night were also presented to the jury. These texts included a suggestion to visit a strip club and a proposal from McLeod for a three-way encounter.

“I’m in,” a response from Carter Hart's phone read.

Donkers stated that further texts would be reviewed, including group chats from players involving team members in the investigation.

Taylor Raddysh claims no recollection of alleged acts from 2018 during the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial

On Wednesday, Washington Capitals forward Taylor Raddysh testified remotely in the sexual assault trial.

Rick Westhead reported that Raddysh became the first team member to provide sworn testimony in the case after appearing via video ahead of the Caps' first-round playoff series game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Raddysh shared that he had limited memory of the events from 2018, when the alleged assault occurred in a hotel room in London, Ontario. He recalled briefly visiting the hotel room of teammate Michael McLeod after a night of celebration following a Hockey Canada gala night.

When questioned about what he saw, Raddysh indicated his memory was unclear. He said he remembered a woman in the room, but could not recall the details, like whether she was clothed.

“I don’t have any recollection of what I saw in that room,” Raddysh said via TSN.

Raddysh also discussed a text conversation he had with McLeod on June 19, 2018. The 27-year-old is scheduled to continue his testimony on Thursday morning.