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Former NHL player Jake Virtanen’s B.C. Supreme Court jury trial has been confirmed for seven days starting July 18.
The former Canuck pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in Vancouver Provincial Court on Feb. 17.
The trial will follow a pretrial conference in April with other pretrial application dates yet to be determined.
A jury will be picked to hear Virtanen’s case July 14 and 16.
Virtanen was charged with sexual assault in January following a Vancouver Police Department (VPD) investigation.
The VPD said in a media release that the B.C. Prosecution Service had approved the charge in relation to an incident that allegedly occurred in Vancouver on Sept. 26, 2017.
Virtanen was playing in the National Hockey League at the time of the alleged incident.
Police say they started their investigation in May 2021 after a woman in her early 20s came forward.
The 25-year-old was placed on leave from the Vancouver Canucks in May 2021.
He most recently played with the HC Spartak Moscow. He has reportedly been released by the team for supposedly breaching his contract.
Virtanen is not in custody.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and Virtanen remains entitled to the presumption of innocence.
