Ex-McGill Redmen football players see sex assault charges dropped
Crown drops charges after witness provides 'new information'
Charges of sexual assault against three former McGill University Redmen football players have been dropped, the Crown says.
The three young men are Ian Sheriff, Brenden Carriere and Guillaume Tremblay.
They were accused of sexually assaulting a former Concordia University student in September 2011.
In court today, the Crown prosecutor said new information had come to light over the weekend that called into question the key witness's story.
"Basically, a witness that the defence was asking for was found. That witness made a statement that supports our client from the beginning.... The prosecution had no choice but to discharge the accused today," said Debora de Thomasis, Tremblay's lawyer. "My client is very happy."
"It's a heavy burden for somebody to carry around charges of this nature. And the fact that it turned out the way it did, we're all very satisfied," said defence lawyer Richard Shadley, who represents Brendan Carriere.
The three Redmen players were charged with sexual assault and confinement in April 2012 and were allowed to continue to play on the football team, quitting only after news of the charges became public more than a year later.
The three men have maintained their innocence all along.