The ice hockey player turned himself in

Alex Formenton while signing his first contract with the Ottawa...

Alex Formenton while signing his first contract with the Ottawa Senators

Former NHL player Alex Formenton has been charged by Canadian authorities as their investigation into an alleged incident involving sexual assault continues.

Formenton walked into the police headquarters Sunday morning accompanied by his attorneys after turning himself into police.

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According to the Associated Press, Formenton’s lawyers said he had been charged, along with several others, without revealing what the exact charge against their client was.

“Alex will vigorously defend his innocence and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all of the evidence,” his attorney Daniel Brown said.

The Canadian is allegedly one of five players from a previous Canada World Juniors hockey team who have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges, after a woman alleged she had been assaulted in a hotel room following a gala event in June 2018.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, filed a civil suit seeking more than $3.5 million in damages from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and the unnamed players. Hockey Canada settled the case without disclosing the amount.

But the criminal case progressed a year ago when London police filed an application with the Ontario Court of Justice stating they had reasonable grounds to suspect that five members of the 2018 team had sexually assaulted a woman.

Who is Alex Formenton?

The 24-year-old played 109 games for the Ottawa Senators from the 2017-18 season through to the 2021-22 campaign, but his contract was not renewed and he decided to move overseas to continue his playing.

He now plays in Switzerland for HC Ambri-Piotta, and his team confirmed last week that he was granted an “indefinite leave of absence”.

London Police have been tight-lipped with regards to Formenton’s charge and declined to comment when pressed for information.

However, they have scheduled a news conference for February 5 to address the situation, with a spokesman telling AP that police “will provide all updates at our press conference”.