PHILADLEPHIA, PA — Flyers goaltender Carter Hart surrendered to police in Canada Tuesday after sexual assault charges were brought against him and four other NHL players in connection with an incident in 2018.
The incident occurred in London, Ontario on June 18, 2018, while Hart, then 19 years old, was competing for Canada’s World Junior team.
Police said that Hart, along with four of his Team Canada teammates and current NHL players — Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube, and Alex Formenton — met the victim at a bar and brought her back to a hotel room, where the assault took place.
The incident was investigated in 2018 and closed, but reopened in 2022 when new witnesses and new evidence emerged, according to authorities.
Hart was placed on indefinite leave from the Flyers, the team announced. His attorneys provided a statement Monday claiming his innocence.
“We act for Carter Hart and confirm he has been charged with one count of sexual assault,” Hart’s attorneys Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani said in a prepared statement Monday. “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the proper forum, a court of law. Until then, we have no comment.”
Hart has not spoken publicly about the incident himself.
Hart was the Flyers second overall draft pick in 2016 and has been one of the team’s more visible faces in recent years, serving as their starting goaltender for the bulk of the past five seasons.
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