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. The boy, now aged 15, also pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual 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. 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.
The identities of the victims and accused cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In September, the other accused teen, also 15, pleaded guilty to sexual assault with a 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. Hockey Canada, which governs amateur hockey, opened an investigation into the Nova Scotia incident, but the sports body said it is confidential.
Nova Scotia teen pleads guilty to sexual assault in hockey hazing case
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. The gathering had been organized so the more senior players could get to know the 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. 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. They pulled down his pants and underwear and exposed his 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.”
One of the co-accused inserted a mini stick in the boy’s buttocks while he was pinned down. 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.”
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. But the younger boys kicked themselves free of their attackers.
Nova Scotia hockey players to learn about consent, hazing
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. 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.
A sentencing hearing for the teenage assailant who pleaded guilty Monday is scheduled for February, 2027. The defence and the Crown attorney told the court they would be recommending a joint sentencing submission for the boy’s three charges. A fourth charge was dismissed as part of a plea negotiation process, Mr. Young said. In court, it was agreed that a psychological assessment of the assailant would be presented to the court prior to 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.
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. There is also real significance in having a public acknowledgment of responsibility and accountability for the harm caused. Our children have been heard, and the guilty pleas represent an important recognition of their experiences.”
Hockey hazing sexual assault trial to start in February for N.S. youths
The families added that they hope the outcome allows them and their children to move forward, knowing that accountability has been accepted.
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.
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.
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. The Globe and Mail is not naming the team to protect the identities of the victims and accused.
Two Nova Scotia teen hockey players plead not guilty in sexual assault case
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.
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.
An adjudicator can issue sanctions against players, ranging from warnings to permanent lifetime bans from Hockey Canada activities.
“These complaints resulted in multiple decisions pertaining to multiple participants, some of whom are minors. Some were sanctioned and some were fully exonerated,” said Ms. Ferdinand-Hodkin.
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.