Complainant takes stand in Jacob Hoggard’s sexual assault trial as Crown begins case

HAILEYBURY, Ont. — Crown prosecutors in the sexual assault trial of Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard began their case on Tuesday by outlining allegations that he choked, slapped and urinated on a 19-year-old fan after a concert in northeastern Ontario.

Prosecutor Lilly Gates said in a brief opening statement that she expects the complainant will share that she was called a pig during an alleged June 2016 assault that involved vaginal penetration and attempted anal penetration.

“I expect you will hear that (she) did not want, nor did she consent to what Mr. Hoggard did to her in that hotel room that night,” the prosecutor told the jury.

Hoggard has pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault in the trial.

The Crown and defence agree that after their concert in Kirkland Lake, Hoggard’s band Hedley attended a bonfire with fans behind the Comfort Inn, where band members were staying.

An agreed statement of facts read out in court also established that Hoggard and the complainant had a sexual encounter in the lead singer’s hotel room.

The complainant took the stand for a short time on Tuesday afternoon at the courthouse in Haileybury, a community within Temiskaming Shores.

Her testimony focused on the events prior to the alleged assault.

The woman, now 27, said that after the concert ended that night, she was told a van was waiting outside to take people to a party.

She said when she got in, between five and seven girls, who seemed to be between the ages of 12 and 16, were in the van, along with band members including Hoggard.

The van drove up a hill behind the hotel, where a fire was burning, she said. Band members were there, she added, and they handed out Coors Light beers.

She said that over the course of the evening, she drank between five and eight beers, which would’ve been “a lot” for her at the time.

The complainant said she remembered getting a selfie with Hoggard and watching him playing a game called “flame joust” with another band member, sword-fighting with lit sticks.

She said she was there until the sun came up, “just people-watching, looking at the guys horsing around, just talking to the other girls.”

At the end of the night, the complainant said she tried to arrange a ride home. “But then Jacob told me to just stay … and we’ll play some music and have a casual conversation,” she said.

Crown attorney Peter Keen asked how Hoggard had been behaving towards her during the party.

“I trusted him. I found him pleasant. I didn’t see anything abnormal,” she said.

The complainant’s testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press