Hedley's Jacob Hoggard sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assault.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts handed down the sentence on Thursday, adding a DNA order, 20 years on the sex offender registry, a 10-year weapons ban, and no contact with the victim.
Reporters at the trial say Roberts allowed Hoggard to say goodbye to his wife. They hugged and kissed, and he said “I love you” before being handcuffed and led out of court.
The prosecution argued that the former Hedley frontman is a risk to the public, while the defence said he’s low risk to reoffend based on the results of a psychiatric report.
Hoggard was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm to an Ottawa woman earlier this year.
The incident occurred in a Toronto hotel room in 2016.
Hoggard was found not guilty on two counts related to a 16-year-old fan.
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In 2019, the 38-year-old pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and chose to be tried by a jury over a judge alone.
It was initially scheduled that Hoggard would stand trial in January 2021, but COVID-19 public health measures made the courts put new jury trials on hold, so his was postponed several times.
In March 2018, the Toronto Police Service’s Sex Crimes unit began investigating Hoggard after several sexual misconduct allegations against the band came to light on social media in February of that same year.
Hoggard tweeted a statement denying the allegations on February 25, 2018, after CBC broke a story about an Ottawa woman saying she was allegedly assaulted by Hoggard.
“I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual behaviour in my life. Ever,” said Hoggard.
However, he added in the admission that he has “behaved in a way that objectified women.”
— Jacob Hoggard (@JacobHoggard) March 1, 2018
He tweeted another statement on March 2 of the same year, preceding another allegation of sexual assault against him.
“I did not engage in any sexual activity without her consent,” said Hoggard. “The allegation is startling and categorically untrue.”
— Jacob Hoggard (@JacobHoggard) March 3, 2018
According to the Toronto Police, Hoggard’s arrest stemmed from incidents dating back to 2016, in which police say Hoggard met three separate women on three separate dates and “committed a sexual assault on each of them.”
Hedley has been on an indefinite hiatus since these allegations came to light.