The Canadian rock musician Jacob Hoggard has been found guilty of violently raping a young woman, but acquitted of sexually assaulting a second – all while facing a new, third charge of sexual assault.
After a month-long trial and six days of deliberation, a Toronto jury handed down its verdict on Sunday evening in a court case that heard testimony from both victims recounting their alleged violent encounters with Hoggard, the former frontman of the Canadian rock band Hedley.
While the sequestered jury deliberated, news broke that Hoggard had been charged in March with a third alleged sexual assault, after a woman came forward accusing the singer of raping her when she was 19.
The court did not inform the jury of the new charge.
On Sunday, the 37-year-old was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm in the case of an Ottawa woman, who testified that Hoggard raped her in 2016 when she was in her early 20s.
In that case, the woman testified that she and Hoggard connected on Tinder and that she knew she was meeting up with him in Toronto to have sex, but that she did not consent to the events that transpired.
She told the court that Hoggard raped her anally, vaginally and orally without a condom, choked her so hard she couldn’t breathe, and dragged her by her legs into the bathroom. “I thought he might kill me,” she told the court. After she asked for an apology in the following days, Hoggard blocked her number.
The jury acquitted Hoggard of two other charges – sexual touching of a minor and sexual assault causing bodily harm – relating to a younger accuser.
That young woman testified that Hoggard groped her backstage at an arena show when she was 15, then raped her after she turned 16.
She testified that shortly after turning 16, she met Hoggard in a Toronto hotel room where he raped her orally and vaginally, and attempted to rape her anally. The jury did not convict him on these charges.
In both cases, Hoggard claimed the “passionate sex” was consensual. The two women did not know each other.
Hoggard admitted to lying to the teen for months after the arena show so that he could have sex with her, saying he loved her and wanted to have a future with her. However, prosecutors were barred from using terms such as “grooming” and “luring” in court.
While testifying in his own defence, Hoggard admitted to lying to both his accusers.
When asked during his testimony whether he was lying on the stand, he told the court: “To be honest, I’ve lied in the past to get out of uncomfortable situations and to cheat on my girlfriend and hope she doesn’t find out, and I’m not proud of it, but this is a whole different ballgame.”
In Canada, the judicial term “sexual assault” is a broad one that includes rape as well as sexual touching and harassment, such as slapping someone’s buttocks. Sexual assault charges are measured in levels according to severity; level 2 – as in the case of Hoggard – refers to sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Unlike in the US, jury deliberations in Canada are secret and jurors cannot talk about their individual verdicts.
The women’s names are protected by a publication ban.
Sentencing and bail conditions pending sentencing have not yet been decided.
Hoggard is due to appear in court on 4 August in the case of the third woman.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
