(Toronto) Jurors began their deliberations Tuesday in the trial of Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard accused of sexually assaulting a woman and an underage girl.
Posted at 5:11 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts spent several hours instructing the jurors. She explained to them the legal principles that frame their work of deliberation when they will have to analyze the evidence submitted to them during the trial.
Jacob Hoggard, 37, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm and one count of sexual interference, that is, touching a victim under the age of 16.
According to the Crown’s version, the frontman of the musical group Hedley allegedly brutally repeatedly raped a teenage fan as well as a young Ottawa woman in Toronto-area hotel rooms in separate incidents in the fall. 2016.
The lawsuit also alleges that Mr. Hoggard allegedly sexually touched the teenager when she was 15 years old. An event that allegedly happened backstage at a Hedley concert in Toronto in April 2016.
In laying out its evidence, the Crown put forward several similarities in the testimonies of the two complainants, two women who have never met and who have never spoken to each other.
Among the similarities reported, the defendant allegedly spat on them, slapped them and hurled disparaging insults at them while he assaulted them. Prosecutors asked jurors to consider similarities in testimonies as indications of a pattern of behavior.
It was admitted in the trial that Mr. Hoggard himself arranged for the two complainants to come to his Toronto hotel room since they resided out of town. Both alleged victims testified that they cried and said “no” repeatedly during the assault.
The youngest of the complainants said Mr Hoggard allegedly crushed her face into pillows making it difficult for her to breathe. The second woman recounted being strangled hard enough to fear for her life. She added that she was dragged by force, by her feet, into the bathroom and that the accused asked her to urinate on him, which she refused to do.
On the defense side, the lawyers argued that the backstage touching incident never happened and that the sexual relations with the plaintiffs were consensual. They claimed the complainants lied about the rapes to hide their embarrassment at being rejected by a “rock star”.
The defense also argued that the similarities in the testimonies of the alleged victims could be explained by the lifestyle that the defendant led at the time.
In his defense testimony last week, Jacob Hoggard said he had no specific recollection of his encounters with the plaintiffs, but was confident of their consent based on their verbal and non-verbal cues.
He said in court that he did not recall spitting, slapping or swearing at the victims, but acknowledged that such things were part of his sexual preferences.
New charges
Moreover, the musician is not at the end of his troubles. Even though his fate is in the hands of jurors, a new charge of the same nature was filed against him last March.
Due to his ongoing trial, a publication ban prevented reporting the additional charge so as not to sway the jury.
Jacob Hoggard is charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm in a case dating from June 25, 2016 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
The case went to a brief hearing in a Haileybury court last Thursday, just days after Mr. Hoggard testified in his Toronto trial. The case is due back in court on August 4.
The musician’s lawyer, Megan Savard, assured Tuesday that her client was innocent and she denied the new charge, adding that Mr. Hoggard would plead not guilty.
The Hedley Band performed at the Kirkland Lake Homecoming Festival on June 24, 2016.
It should be noted that the facts alleged in the trial held in Toronto would have occurred in September and November of the same year.