Former Canucks forward Virtanen charged with sexual assault

The Vancouver Police Department charged former Canucks forward Jake Virtanen with one count of sexual assault Thursday following an investigation.

Virtanen is not currently in custody.

He was named in a lawsuit last May after a woman, now 23, came forward regarding an incident that allegedly occurred in 2017. The lawsuit states Virtanen took the woman to a Vancouver hotel and assaulted her despite her pleas for him to stop.

Virtanen denied the allegations in June.

The Canucks placed Virtanen on leave after the allegations surfaced. He was then bought out and joined Spartak Moscow of the KHL for the 2021-22 season.