Hoggard takes stand in sex assault trial, denies that he raped complainant

HAILEYBURY, Ont. -

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard denies that he raped the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault, or that he touched her sexually in any way without her consent.

Hoggard took the stand Tuesday morning in the northeastern Ontario community of Haileybury, where he has pleaded not guilty in a criminal trial that began last week.

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

Wearing a dark suit, Hoggard told the jury that he and the complainant in the case had sex in nearby Kirkland Lake, Ont., after his then-band Hedley performed a show eight years ago.

"Did you rape (her)?" defence lawyer Megan Savard asked.

"No," he stated.

"Did you touch her sexually in any way without her consent?" she went on.

"No," he said.

After getting those answers close to the beginning of Hoggard's testimony, Savard began bringing him through the events of the day, including the lead-up to the concert and a bonfire after-party the band hosted just outside their hotel after that.

That included showing court a tour itinerary for the day and having Hoggard mark the location of the fire, which he said he built, with white-out on a printed aerial view of the hotel.

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Opening arguments are expected to get underway today in the sexual assault trial of Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould

The complainant, during four days of emotional testimony last week, had told the jury that she was at the bonfire party until the sun came up, and that Hoggard led her to his hotel room after that.

The woman, who was 19 years old at the time, accused Hoggard of vaginally raping, choking, slapping and urinating on her after they got into the hotel room.

She denied Savard's suggestions during cross-examination that she exaggerated or changed parts of her story. She forcefully denied wanting to have a one-night stand with Hoggard. She rejected the suggestion that they flirted.

Savard said in an opening statement earlier Tuesday that she expected Hoggard would tell the jury there was no doubt in his mind that the encounter was consensual, and that he and the woman had flirted, kissed and held hands at the party beforehand.

She also told the jury that she would later call two crew members who worked the Hedley concert that night to testify in the trial.

The two will contradict elements of the complainant's account of the events leading up to the alleged assault, Savard said.

Hoggard, who told court he began working as a carpenter after Hedley broke up in 2018 and is now living "hand to mouth," was expected to continue his testimony throughout the day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.