Canadian hockey players are jailed for group sex attack on girl, 17, who was working at their hotel: Filmed assault and showed it to teammates

Two Canadian hockey stars have been convicted of a prolonged sexual assault on a teenage hotel employee, who later realized she was the “perfect sardine for their fishing net.”

Nicolas Daigle, 21, lured the 17-year-old to his room, where his Victoriaville Tigres teammate Massimo Siciliano, 21, was also waiting before the pair attacked her for 40 minutes in June 2021.

The rest of the team was celebrating their victory in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and Daigle ran downstairs to show them the video he had filmed of the attack.

But a Quebec City court ruled that a team employee had simply forced him to delete the video while Siciliano continued the attack upstairs.

District Attorney Michel Berube said he hoped the case would encourage other victims to come forward, as Daigle was sentenced to 32 months in prison and Siciliano to 30 months.

“It is a meaningful sentence that reflects the seriousness of what happened,” he added.

Daigle and Siciliano were rising stars with the Victoriaville Tigres when they attacked the teenage hotel worker in June 2021 after luring her to their room

The court heard the teenage victim met Daigle during the month his team spent at the hotel in the Quebec resort of Lac-Beauport during the 2021 playoffs.

She declined an invitation from team members to join their party in a hotel conference room on June 5 and refused Daigle’s request to join him in his room, citing company policy.

But after she clocked out, Daigle messaged her again and convinced her to come to his room.

She did not know Siciliano and told the court she felt trapped as the two attacked her, sometimes simultaneously, while Daigle secretly recorded his video.

“I was vulnerable, the perfect sardine for their fishing net,” she told a hearing in March.

‘I fell into the trap for a long time and thought it was my fault that I was there. I felt guilty.

‘Now I am more convinced than ever that what I experienced should not have happened, that it was not my fault and that I am a victim of sexual abuse.’

The court heard that she sought refuge in the toilet, sobbing, and that her attackers admitted to each other that she had not enjoyed herself when they spoke afterwards.

The team celebrated its victory in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

The team had spent a month at the hotel in the picturesque Quebec resort of Lac-Beauport as they prepared for their June 2021 playoffs

The scandal is the latest to shake the foundations of sports in Canada, with five international stars still awaiting trial for the alleged gang rape of a young woman in 2018.

Police initially dropped their investigation into the attack at the Delta London Armouries Hotel in London, Ontario, but did not resume the investigation until 2022 after the woman won a $3.5 million lawsuit against Hockey Canada.

Michael McLeod and Cal Foote, formerly of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers and Alex Formenton, a former NHL player now playing in Switzerland, are due in court next month.

Ontario Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann admitted in February that there was not enough evidence to bring charges against the other three men accused of involvement.

“I just want to say that we have laid out the allegations that we have reasonable grounds for at this time,” she explained.

Daigle and Siciliano admitted to sexual abuse during a hearing in October, early in what was supposed to be an 11-day trial.

Daigle also admitted to filming the attack twice and showing a video of it. The victim was not told of the video’s existence until the next day.

Michael McLeod (left) and Carter Hart (right) are two of five players awaiting trial for rape

They told the court they were drunk and admitted they had failed to take reasonable steps to obtain the victim’s consent.

Ahead of Monday’s verdict, they expressed regret and said they no longer plan to pursue a career as hockey players.

“We have two individuals who played for a prestigious league in Quebec who committed crimes and were found guilty and sent to prison today,” Berube told reporters.

“I hope the courage of the victim in this case will inspire anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward, no matter how powerful or influential the perpetrator.”