Tearful complainant alleges Jacob Hoggard raped, choked her after Hedley concert

By The Canadian Press on September 25, 2024.

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard is pictured in Toronto on Oct. 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Lupul

HAILEYBURY, Ont. – The complainant in Jacob Hoggard’s sexual assault trial alleges that the musician raped, choked and urinated on her after she attended his band’s concert in June 2016.

The woman, visibly upset throughout her testimony in a northeastern Ontario court this morning, says she was terrified by Hoggard, repeatedly tried to get away from him and told him to stop.

She says Hoggard called her a “dirty little piggy” and imitated pig sounds during the alleged rape, telling the jury that the memory of his “bright eyes” that night still haunts her.

Hoggard, the lead singer of the band Hedley, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault in the case.

His defence lawyers and the Crown agree that a sexual encounter took place in Kirkland Lake, Ont., at his hotel after band members and fans attended a post-concert bonfire ““ prosecutors are seeking to prove what happened was not consensual.

The complainant, whose name is protected by a publication ban, has not yet been cross-examined by the defence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.