OHL sexual assault case has been 'a real ordeal'

The sexual assault charges against three Ontario Hockey League players dating back to August 2012 have been laid to rest following a hearing on Thursday at the Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse.

The charges against Soo Greyhounds forwards Nick Cousins, 19, of Belleville, Ont.; Andrew Fritsch, 20, of Brantford, Ont.; and former Hound Mark Petaccio, 19 of Sicklerville, NJ., have been withdrawn under the condition that a peace bond be upheld between the three players and the complainant.

All three players were present for the hearing, which took place at 11 a.m.

Having reviewed the evidence, the crown concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction, and as a result, requested a discontinuation of the prosecution.

The peace bond entails that Cousins, Fritsch and Petaccio keep the peace, do not communicate directly or indirectly with the complainant, and are not to be within 500 metres of the complainant’s residence.

Petaccio’s attorney Don Orazietti spoke on behalf of his client.

He said the entire case has been “a real ordeal,” and his client’s life has been personally turned upside down.

He explained Petaccio’s career has been put on hold, and the 19-year-old has paid a tremendous price as a result of the allegations.

“The prosecutor, in outlining the reasons, explained how thoroughly they reviewed the file, and came to the conclusion that there isn’t phrases or reasonable prospect of conviction,”  Orazietti said. “That’s a low threshold and they acknowledged they couldn’t meet that. So that tells you something about how tenuous this case was from the start.”

Andrew Furgiuele spoke on behalf of Fritsch, and he emphasized the sense of relief following the hearing.

“Thankfully, from my client’s point of view, he had strong supports around him,” Furgiuele said. “He wants to thank his family and friends for all their supports, and he wants to thank the Greyhounds organization, general manager, coaching staff and his teammates for all their support.”

Finally, for Philadelphia Flyers prospect Nick Cousins, his attorney Bruce Willson said the ruling is fantastic news.

He said his client’s name is cleared and his innocence was proven, which stood for all three of the accused players.

“What they can say now is what they’ve been saying from the beginning of this, which is that they’re not guilty, and we hope that this resolution does, in fact, do something to lift that cloud of suspicion,” Willson said.

Cousins said dealing with the accusations throughout the 2012-13 season wasn’t easy.

“Obviously it’s tough mentally, but you’ve just got to kind of block it out and play your game,” Cousins said. “You try to just continue to do what you’ve been doing, but it’s always in the back of your mind.”

The Greyhounds’ leading scorer will be joining the Flyers’ affiliate Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League since the Hounds were eliminated from the OHL playoffs by Owen Sound last Sunday.

In terms of moving on in his career and putting the accusations in the past, Cousins said he will be looking to his support systems.

“That’s why I have my family and my friends,” he said. “They have been supporting me all along the way, and that’s what’s got me to where I am today.”

The Soo Greyhounds released the following statement regarding the news of the withdrawal of charges against the players:

From the outset our organization has stated that we would support the legal process and allow the justice system to deliver an outcome on this case. Today the justice system has done that.