Members of Canada's 2003 World Hockey Junior Team Have Now Also Been Accused Of Sexual Assault

Hockey Canada has confirmed that several members of the 2002-03 World Junior Team are under investigation for an alleged group sexual assault that took place in 2003.

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In a statement published on July 22, the national hockey organization confirmed that they'd received "disturbing details of the alleged incident" from TSN and CTV reporter Rick Westhead on July 21.

Westhead has reportedly spoken to several witnesses who provided extensive descriptions of the alleged sexual assault that took place during the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax.

"The details in Mr. Westhead’s email were deeply disturbing," said the organization on Friday.

"Hockey Canada is committed to bringing an end to the culture of silence in hockey," the statement read. "That is why we are publicly calling for anyone with knowledge of this incident to come forward to police."

"Hockey Canada staff heard a rumour about 'something bad at the 2003 World Juniors' but were given no details of any sort," the notice said.

The organization claims it "immediately reported this information to Sport Canada," and hired a third-party investigator to look into the claims.

"We believe the alleged incident from 2003 should be investigated by the authorities, and we urge the police to open an investigation into this disturbing situation," the statement adds.

It's the latest in a series of scandals involving Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) organizations.

In May, an alleged sexual assault by eight unidentified players — some of whom were on the 2017-18 World Junior Team — at a 2018 hockey tournament in London, Ontario, was made public.

TSN reported that the woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted, was given a settlement by Hockey Canada and the CHL in return for dropping her lawsuit.

Additionally, The Canadian Press reported that Hockey Canada had a fund used to pay for uninsured liabilities, which included sexual assault allegations.

These revelations have caused the federal government to freeze funding for Hockey Canada and have caught the condemnation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, call the Assaulted Women's Helpline at 1-866-863-0511. You can also contact support services for male survivors of sexual assault at 1-866-887-0015. If you need immediate assistance, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. Support is available.

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