Content advisory: This article includes graphic language and details of alleged sexual assault

A Crown attorney claimed in court Wednesday that Brett Howden was being untruthful when he previously testified he couldn’t remember details that could hurt five of his former teammates on Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who are on trial for sexual assault.

Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham has asked Justice Maria Carroccia for permission to cross-examine Howden, currently a forward for the Vegas Golden Knights, on 18 areas of his previous testimony. The high-profile trial was paused on Wednesday to deal with Cunningham’s request.

Cunningham has alleged that Howden’s testimony on Tuesday was markedly different from what he previously said in statements to London police, Hockey Canada investigators, and in text messages.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Callan Foote have been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in McLeod’s hotel room in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018, following a night of dancing and drinking at a downtown London bar. McLeod has also been charged with being a party to the offence of sexual assault. All of the players have pleaded not guilty.

E.M., the complainant in the case whose identity is protected by a publication ban, has alleged that after she had consensual sex with McLeod, he surreptitiously texted his Team Canada teammates and invited them to his hotel room to take part in group sex.

McLeod’s lawyer, David Humphrey, has suggested that E.M. asked McLeod to invite other players back to his room to have a “wild night” with her.

Howden testified Tuesday that he didn’t remember many of the moments of June 19, 2018, or other events afterwards, even after he was given the opportunity to review his prior statements.

“Mr. Howden’s memory loss is a feigned memory loss, not a sincere one,” Cunningham told Carroccia on Wednesday morning. “This is not a complete memory loss. He remembers some details but doesn’t remember the details that are particularly damning to his friends and teammates.”

Cunningham referred to the notes of an interview Howden did with London police in 2023, in which he........

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