Accused of sexual assault | Complainant testifies at Jacob Hoggard trial

(Haileybury) The complainant in Jacob Hoggard’s sexual assault trial says that before the alleged assault in June 2016, she attended a concert by his band, Hedley, in Kirkland Lake, in northeastern Ontario.

The woman told jurors Tuesday afternoon that, aged 19 at the time, she attended a party with members of Hedley and other teenage girls after the pop rock group performed.

The Crown and Defence agree that the complainant, the accused, other musicians from the Hedley band and members of the public were present at a campfire that evening behind the hotel where the band was staying.

An agreed statement of facts read to the court also established that Hoggard and the complainant had sexual intercourse in the singer’s hotel room.

The prosecution, however, wants to convince jurors that the woman did not consent to what happened and that Hoggard knew there was no consent.

Hoggard pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charge Monday at the Haileybury courthouse in Temiskaming Shores.

In her opening argument Tuesday afternoon, prosecutor Lilly Gates told jurors that the complainant is expected to describe at trial a sexual assault that involved vaginal penetration and attempted anal penetration.

M^e Gates said the complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, should also recount how she was choked and slapped during the alleged assault. The defendant also allegedly urinated on the complainant and verbally belittled her.

His testimony is expected to continue Wednesday morning.