In the wake of the World Junior verdict, one survivor shares her quest to change hockey culture

Following not guilty verdicts in the World Juniors sex assault trial, questions remain about hockey culture and the meaning of consent. Adrian Ghobrial reports.

Following a not guilty verdict for five members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team, the spotlight remains fixed on the culture of hockey and sport in Canada.

Speaking with CTV News, Catherine Laroche says in June 2015, when she was 23, her girlfriends found her “lying on the floor unconscious” at a house party in Montreal.

Laroche believes she was drugged with GHB, also known as the date rape drug, then sexually assaulted by a person she considered a friend at the time, who was playing major junior hockey in Quebec.

Laroche says the man who assaulted her would go onto have a successful NHL career.

“I called him the morning after, and said ‘oh we had sex? Can you tell me more about that because I can’t remember it,’” she said. “I told him that I heard there was GHB at the party and he went into panic mode and said that he didn’t know anything about that.”

Laroche says he told her he was “about to sign with the NHL, please don’t talk about it and so that’s what I did.”

Now 33, Laroche admits she was naive when the incident took place. She went to police five years after the alleged assault but says navigating the legal system led to frustration and anxiety, so she ended her pursuit for criminal justice.

Instead, she found a different path towards healing and purpose.

“When the #MeToo wave came, my body started having anxiety symptoms, as if my body remembered even if my head didn’t want to,” she said.

Laroche’s personal journey brought her to a place where she wanted to educate the public to “protect people like me.” She launched Equals without Ego and began sharing her personal experience with hockey coaches and players as young as 15 years old, to help them understand the importance of consent and self awareness.

“By helping individuals understand themselves more, they can be more conscious about their actions,” she said.

Laura Robinson, an author who wrote “Crossing the Line: Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport,” believes Canada’s hockey culture still has a long road to travel.

“In my book, I have two guys who were convicted, Jarret Read and Andrew Power, who are both coaching right now,” she said. “They’re not in the NHL, but they’re coaching.”

Following this week’s not guilty verdicts for five members of 2018 gold medal world junior hockey team

After Ontario Justice Maria Carroccia acquitted all five men, Megan Savard, the lawyer for six-year NHL veteran Carter Hart, shared that her client “has learned from the experience and he is committing to sharing what he has learned with others in his personal circle and in his professional life.”

Robinson says we need to hear what Hart believes those lessons are.

“Is it that he simply learned not to put anything in a text message? Or is it that we have to stop acting like this, and we have to make sure there’s not a generation after us acting like this?”

For Laroche, breaking the cycle of misogyny is part of her ultimate goal.

“Working with the young athletes today does give me hope,” she said. “The generation I’m working with, 15 to 25 years old, they’re so open minded and they want to change the narrative about the culture of hockey.”