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Ben Johnson acquitted

WINDSOR, Ontario – A former Calumet hockey player was acquitted of an alleged sexual assault in an Ontario court Thursday.

A judge ruled there was not enough evidence to conclude Ben Johnson forced a woman to touch his genitals in the bathroom of a Windsor bar in 2012.

Johnson, who was drafted by the New Jersey Devils, was playing for the minor league Windsor Spitfires at the time of the incident.

Justice Micheline Rawlins said she believed an incident took place between Johnson and his accuser, though she had doubted it occurred as the accuser stated, the Windsor Star said. Based on another witness’s account of an obscene request Johnson made and then didn’t pursue, he was behaving inappropriately, but wasn’t aggressive, Rawlins said, according to the Star.

“We’re happy, we’re relieved,” said Kevin Johnson, Ben Johnson’s father. “It came out the way it should have. But it’s a long, arduous, expensive process.”

Johnson is still scheduled to stand trial in Ontario in May for an unrelated sexual assault charge.

Kevin Johnson said his son expected to hear from his agent Friday. Possibilities are for his son to play in the East Coast Hockey League, then finish the season with the Albany team in the American Hockey League.

Johnson’s attorney, Evan Weber, and Windsor assistant Crown attorney Scott Kerwin could not be reached for comment Friday.

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