A second teenaged boy pleaded guilty to sexual assault with a weapon in a Nova Scotia youth court Monday in relation to a violent hockey hazing incident at a team gathering last fall.
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boy → plead → gathering
The boy, now aged 15, also pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault.
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boy → age → assault
In the Truro courtroom, the teen stood squeezing his eyes open and shut as he leaned down into the microphone and said “guilty” to the three charges read out by Judge Jennifer MacLellan.
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he → stand → MacLellan
Family members of the victims listened intently on the opposite side of the courtroom as the details of the violent sexual assault at a team sleepover party were read aloud from the agreed statement of facts.
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details → listen → facts
The identities of the victims and accused cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
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identities → accuse → Act
In September, the other accused teen, also 15, pleaded guilty to sexual assault with a weapon.
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teen → accuse → weapon
News of the assault struck a chord nationwide as hockey and the sports bodies that regulate it have faced a reckoning in recent years for a culture of silence and toxic masculinity.
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that → strike → silence
Hockey Canada, which governs amateur hockey, opened an investigation into the Nova Scotia incident, but the sports body said it is confidential.
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it → govern → incident
The court heard that on the evening of Oct. 3, 2025, the under-15 triple ‘A’ boys’ hockey team gathered at a teammate’s house for a team-building and social event in Colchester County, N.S.
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team → hear → County
The gathering had been organized so the more senior players could get to know the rookies.
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players → organize → rookies
According to the agreed statement of facts read in court by senior Crown attorney Patrick Young on Monday, the players’ parents gathered downstairs, while the boys socialized upstairs in two bedrooms.
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boys → accord → bedrooms
During the evening, a 13-year-old rookie player was lying on a bed face down on his stomach, scrolling on his phone when two older players, who were 14 at the time, pinned him down and immobilized him.
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who → lie → him
They pulled down his pants and underwear and exposed his buttocks.
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They → pull → buttocks
The co-accused approached the rookie with the view of “initiating” him as a “full-fledged member of the hockey team by inserting a mini stick in his buttocks.”
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accused → accuse → buttocks
One of the co-accused inserted a mini stick in the boy’s buttocks while he was pinned down.
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he → accuse → buttocks
The rookie shouted for them to stop and started crying, later telling authorities that the assault lasted 15 to 20 seconds, but it “felt like forever.”
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it → shout → forever
After the assault, two older boys ushered two other rookies into the same room, pinned them down and pulled down their pants, partially removing their underwear.
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boys → usher → underwear
But the younger boys kicked themselves free of their attackers.
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boys → kick → attackers
The court heard that the first victim always planned to tell his parents but didn’t know how to raise the subject and he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
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anyone → hear → trouble
The first victim’s father eventually heard about the incident, went to the RCMP on Jan. 30 and filed a complaint, according to the statement of facts.
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father → hear → facts
A sentencing hearing for the teenage assailant who pleaded guilty Monday is scheduled for February, 2027.
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who → plead → February
The defence and the Crown attorney told the court they would be recommending a joint sentencing submission for the boy’s three charges.
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they → tell → charges
A fourth charge was dismissed as part of a plea negotiation process, Mr. Young said.
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Young → dismiss → process
In court, it was agreed that a psychological assessment of the assailant would be presented to the court prior to sentencing.
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assessment → agree → sentencing
Mr. Young told reporters a sentence for sexual assault with a weapon can range from three years in custody and a supervision order, to a reprimand or period of probation, but it all hinges on the accused’s personal circumstances.
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it → tell → circumstances
In a statement issued through their lawyer Tara Miller, the victims’ families said: “While nothing can undo what happened or the impact it has had on our children, the guilty pleas mean they will not have to endure the additional stress and trauma of a trial.
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they → issue → trial
Our children have been heard, and the guilty pleas represent an important recognition of their experiences.
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pleas → hear → experiences
The families added that they hope the outcome allows them and their children to move forward, knowing that accountability has been accepted.
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accountability → add → ?
Hockey Canada has been embroiled in controversy over its handling of sexual assault allegations made against five members of the 2018 national junior team (they were found not guilty in a criminal court last year), and for quietly using registration fees from players across the country to settle such cases.
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they → embroil → cases
In response to that scandal, Hockey Canada launched a new independent third-party (ITP) process in 2022 for confidentially handling hockey-related maltreatment complaints, and to ensure possible Criminal Code offences are reported to law enforcement and child protection services.
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offences → launch → enforcement
Hockey Nova Scotia, a branch of Hockey Canada and the organization that governs the sport in the province, initially suspended and later disbanded the team involved in last year’s hazing incident.
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that → govern → incident
The Globe and Mail is not naming the team to protect the identities of the victims and accused.
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Globe → name → victims
The incidents of sexual violence involving the team were reported to Hockey Canada’s ITP and an investigation into allegations of maltreatment was launched earlier this year, Hockey Canada chief of staff Jeremy Knight said.
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Knight → involve → staff
These resulted in adjudication processes in accordance with Hockey Canada’s Maltreatment Complaint Management Policy, which are now fully concluded, said Jahmiah Ferdinand-Hodkin of Sport Dispute Management, the organization that runs the ITP, in a statement.
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that → result → statement
An adjudicator can issue sanctions against players, ranging from warnings to permanent lifetime bans from Hockey Canada activities.
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adjudicator → issue → activities
“These complaints resulted in multiple decisions pertaining to multiple participants, some of whom are minors.
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some → result → whom
Some were sanctioned and some were fully exonerated,” said Ms. Ferdinand-Hodkin.
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Hodkin → sanction → ?
The adjudicator in this case decided to not to make the decisions related to Truro incident public, but it was shared with the people involved and Hockey Nova Scotia.
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it → decide → people
The Aporia
