Ex-NHLer Ryan Kesler reportedly to be tried on sex charges

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The criminal case against former NHLer Ryan Kesler is reportedly headed to a trial.

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Kesler is charged with two misdemeanour counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree.

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District Judge Marc Barron ruled Thursday that the prosecution had successfully established probable cause against Kesler during a preliminary examination, per a report from The Athletic’s Sean Gentille.

Kesler, 41, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were filed against him on Oct. 23.

Alleged victim was friends with Kesler’s daughter

The offences are alleged to have occurred on Jan. 1 in Orchard Lake, Mich.

According to the criminal complaint, Kesler is accused of engaging in sexual contact with a 16-year-old child “through force or coercion and/or (had) reason to know the victim was physically helpless.”

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Per The Athleticthe alleged victim is now 17 and was a friend of Kesler’s eldest daughter.

The alleged victim took the stand and told the court, per the outlet, that upon falling asleep on the couch next to Kesler after a New Year’s Eve party at his home, she allegedly awoke to find his foot rubbing her crotch and her foot touching his erect penis over a pair of shorts.

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Kesler prepared to fight charges ‘vigorously:’ Lawyers

According to the report, Kesler’s attorneys argued that inconsistencies in the accuser’s recounting of the night to law enforcement and a local children’s advocacy centre should have stopped the case from reaching trial.

“Ryan emphatically denies the allegations and is completely innocent of the charges. The charges are baseless and he is prepared to fight them vigorously in court,” his lawyer Robert Morad told The Athletic on Oct. 27. “As the legal process begins, we ask for respect for his privacy and for the integrity of the judicial system. We are confident, when all the facts and circumstances are presented, that he will be fully exonerated.”

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Kesler, a native of Livonia, Mich., played for the Vancouver Canucks from 2003 to 2014 and was traded to the Anaheim Ducks, where he played until his retirement in 2019.

Kesler played for U.S. Olympic team, won Selke Trophy

The centre was also a member of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team in 2010 and 2014. In 2011, he won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward and was part of the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup final that year.

According to the Detroit NewsKesler coached a 15-and-under bantam midget team through the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, but he has since been “summarily suspended” from his duties “due to the seriousness of the allegations.”

According to the Michigan penal codefourth-degree criminal sexual conduct is defined as when a person engages in sexual contact with a someone under the age of 16, uses “force or coercion to accomplish the sexual contact” or if the victim is incapacitated.

Anyone guilty of the crime faces up to a $500 fine, no more than two years in prison or both.

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