(Toronto) An Ontario Court of Appeal judge has denied musician Jacob Hoggard’s bail application, as he seeks to appeal his guilty verdict to the Supreme Court.
Judge Jill Copeland heard arguments earlier this week from Hoggard. The singer and guitarist for the band Hedley has just started serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault.
Hoggard was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman. He filed an application last week seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and was seeking bail from the Ontario Court of Appeal.
In his application to the Supreme Court, he argues that the Court of Appeal – which upheld his guilty verdict – failed to determine whether an error made by that court was harmless.
Justice Copeland noted that Hoggard’s guilty verdict had been unanimously upheld by the Court of Appeal. She said it would be “highly unlikely” that he would be granted leave to take his case to the country’s highest court. The public interest in enforcing the sentence outweighed Hoggard’s personal interest in seeking another judgment on his guilty verdict.
She added that if the Supreme Court decides to consider the appeal, the musician’s parole application could be reconsidered.