Hedley singer: Jacob Hoggard guilty of rape causing bodily harm

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard was convicted of raping a woman in 2016, and was acquitted of the same charge against a 16-year-old girl.

• Read also: Hedley singer’s sexual assault trial begins

After six days of deliberations, jurors also found him not guilty of sexually touching the same teenager when she was 15, The Star reported on Sunday.

Jury deliberation began on Tuesday, but on Thursday jurors said they were deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict. They then asked for clarification on the testimonies before arriving at a verdict.

Recall that Jacob Hoggard was charged in 2018 with sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual interference with a young fan. Prosecutors alleged the 37-year-old musician touched the teenager backstage after a show in Toronto in 2016, and raped her in a hotel room the same year. They also alleged that he violently raped an Ottawa woman at a Toronto hotel in 2016.

Jacob Hoggard had pleaded not guilty to all charges. During his testimony at trial, he indicated that he had consensual and passionate sex with the two complainants and maintained that he had not sexually touched the teenager before she was 16 years old. The defense argued that the two women had made it all up, because the musician had rejected them.

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