Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior ice hockey team were found not guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room that year, a judge declared, in a dramatic conclusion to a trial that ignited debate over the nature of consent and the cultural status of hockey players in a country where the sport is often seen as a pillar of national identity.Justice Maria Carroccia told a packed Ontario courtroom that the Crown had not proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, ruling that the complainant was “neither credible nor reliable”. All five men – Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart and Cal Foote – were found not guilty on all offences. As the judge read out each decision, the men shifted in their chairs, some rubbing their temples.The charges stemmed from an encounter in a London, Ontario, hotel room in June 2018, following a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the team’s world junior championship victory.There were audible gasps in the courtroom at the judge’s remarks, which came more than seven years after the woman first approached police alleging she had been sexually assaulted.“A fair trial is one where decisions are made based on the evidence and the law, not on stereotypes and assumptions, and where the trial process respects the security, equality and privacy rights of the victim as well as the accused persons,” said Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham in speaking to reporters outside the courthouse following the verdict.