After mistrial, jury set in new sexual assault trial for 5 ex-major junior hockey players in London, Ont.

A new jury was chosen in London, Ont., on Friday for the trial of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room in 2018.

Earlier in the day, the judge declared a mistrial, setting up the need for the new trial.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton each faces one count of sexual assault. McLeod faces an additional count of being a party to an offence.

For the second time this week, the five men each stood in turn with his defence team and firmly said, "not guilty," when asked by the court for their pleas Friday afternoon. 

The case dates back to the summer of 2018, while they were at a London hotel following a gala celebrating the world junior hockey team's gold-medal win months earlier.

The complainant's identity is known in court as E.M. and it's covered by a publication ban — which is standard in sexual assault cases. 

Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia declared the mistrial after the trial opened Tuesday, when the initial jury was chosen. Reasons for the mistrial are covered under a publication ban. The process to choose new jurors began immediately after the original jury was thanked by the judge and dismissed. 

"At the end of this case, it will be your responsibility to consider the evidence and my instructions, and decide whether the accused are guilty or not guilty of the crimes of which they are charged," Carroccia told the new pool of about 200 potential jurors before the final ones were selected. "You will be responsible for determining if the guilt of [the accused] has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."  

Carroccia told the new jury — which has nine women, five men and two alternates — not to speak to anyone about the