Ex-Canuck Jake Virtanen charged with sexual assault in Vancouver case
Warning: This story contains a graphic description of an alleged sexual assault that readers may find upsetting.
A former Vancouver Canucks player has been charged with sexual assault in connection with an investigation in Vancouver, police say.
The charge against Jacob Reid Virtanen, better known to hockey fans as Jake Virtanen, is tied to an allegation from Sept. 26, 2017. It was approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service Thursday, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
He has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court.
Virtanen, now 25, was playing in the National Hockey League at the time. The investigation began back in May when a young woman filed a police report.
Virtanen is not in custody, police said. No further details were provided by the department.
He was placed on leave by the Canucks in May and on waivers in July, after the allegation surfaced.
The team hoped for a buyout of the final year of his contract – at the time, the Canucks were on the hook for about one-third of his remaining $3 million salary.
In September it was announced that Virtanen was headed to Russia to play with Spartak Moscow in the KHL.
The right winger from B.C.'s Lower Mainland is also the subject of a lawsuit related to an assault allegation from Sept. 26, 2017.
CTV News reached out to police to confirm the incidents are the same, but was told that no further information could be provided due to a publication ban.
The B.C. Prosecution Service too said no further comment would be made as the case is before the courts.
In court documents, his accuser alleged the assault happened at a hotel. Virtanen responded to the suit and acknowledged having sex with the accuser, but said she consented "through her words and conduct."
A lawyer for Virtanen denied allegations that the professional athlete "used his body weight and superior strength" to render the accuser unconscious.
Both said they'd first met at the Calgary Stampede, and exchanged text messages for a couple of months before meeting up in Vancouver.
His accuser's statement of claim indicates that she was "a youth" at the time of the incident, and Virtanen was 20. In his response, Virtanen said he understood her to be 18 when they met.
The allegations in the lawsuit have also not been proven in court.
A statement from Virtanen's agent obtained by The Canadian Press said the former Canuck continues to deny the allegations.
"He has filed a response to the complainant's civil lawsuit. He has sent police a statement, denying the allegations. He took a polygraph examination and provided that report to the police," Kevin Epps wrote. "Mr. Virtanen continues to maintain his innocence and looks forward to defending himself at trial."
Virtanen was due in court Thursday for his first appearance, but that has been adjourned to Feb. 10, the BCPS said.
In a statement issued after the charge was made public, the Vancouver Canucks said the team has been in contact with police throughout the investigation, and will continue to provide support as needed.
"Our organization is committed to fostering a safe and welcoming environment and will not tolerate sexual misconduct of any kind," the team said.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.