Hedley Lead Singer Jacob Hoggard Sentenced To Five Years Prison For Sexual Assault

Jacob Hoggard, the singer who was once the frontman of the Canadian band Hedley, was sentenced to five years in prison for raping an Ottawa woman in an assault that involved “gratuitous degradation.”

He had also faced two other charges for assaulting a teenage fan and a charge of sexual interference with her, but was found not guilty on those counts.

His accuser said that Hoggard choked her, spit on her and slapped her during the encounter among many awful other demeaning actions while assaulting her multiple times.

Hoggard had denied that he choked her but said that he had “passionate” sex with her and had sexual preferences including slapping.

Justice Gillian Roberts sided with the woman’s account, saying during her sentencing it’s clear she “is no longer the same person she was before the attack.” Roberts also said “Whatever fleeting moments of gratification Mr. Hoggard derived from his conduct, they have come at the staggering and utterly unacceptable cost of forever changing [this woman’s] life.”

Roberts also said that Hoggard was at risk to re-offend by noting “we cannot say that Mr. Hoggard will never again find himself in a situation where he has a sexual opportunity, wants to validate himself, and impulse takes over.”

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, said she was in her early 20s when the assault occurred in a Toronto hotel room. She testified that Hoggard choked her so hard that she thought she was going to die and said “a part of me died that day I will never get back.”

Hoggard has already appealed the decision, and was also granted bail on Thursday shortly after the sentencing decision was delivered. He was first charged in 2018 and departed from his band Hedley shortly after they were made public, but the case faced significant delays throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.