TORONTO –
Warning: This story contains disturbing allegations.
Prosecutors say Canadian musician Jacob Hoghard repeatedly and violently raped a teenager and a young woman in two separate incidents, months apart, leaving each of them bleeding, bruised and injured when they left his Toronto hotel.
In an introductory statement to the jury on Thursday, Royal Attorney Kelly Slate outlined the evidence prosecutors expect to appear in the singer’s trial over the next few weeks.
Each complainant is expected to testify that what happened at Hogard’s hotel room in the autumn of 2016 was not what she imagined or wanted, and that she “cried and said no” for the duration of the incident, Slate told the court.
A concerted statement read out in court on Thursday said Hogard had a “sexual encounter” with each of the applicants on the days they arrived at his hotel.
The musician pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm and one charge of sexual intercourse, a charge involving sexual contact with a person under 16 years of age.
One of the applicants began her testimony on Thursday, describing herself as a longtime fan of Hadley, the Hogard-led group. She went to one of the band’s concerts for the first time at the age of 10 and saw them 10 to 15 times over the years, amassing a collection of souvenirs, she said.
She met Hogard after a show she attended when she was 12, the complainant said. Hogard exchanged phone numbers with her parents and, over time, helped them get tickets and passes behind the scenes for other Hadley shows, she said.
They began communicating directly after she copied Hogard’s number from her mother’s phone when she was 15, she said. The young woman testified that when she told Hogard that she had his number during a meeting and greeted him in April 2016, he replied, “You have to use it sometime.”
They started sending text messages shortly thereafter and eventually moved some of their conversations to Snapchat, an application where photos and messages are only seen temporarily, the complainant said.
“The conversations slowly began to develop more of a sexual nature,” and Hoghard eventually asked for pictures of her naked, she said, adding that she complied with his request.
He also sent her nude photos and a video of him masturbating, she said. The agreed statement of facts acknowledges the existence of a masturbation video, but does not say whether it was shared with anyone.
Hogard also sent her romantic messages, saying he loved her, saw a future with her and wanted her to bear him children, the young woman told the court.
“I felt almost like a relationship,” she said. “He tells me I’m this beautiful man he loves.” It was almost like “pinching me.”
A few weeks after texting began, Hoghard arranged for the teenager to come to the Hadley show at what is now the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto by sending a limousine to pick up the girl and two friends in their hometown north of the city. statement of facts.
When they met behind the scenes after the show, Hoghard picked her up, put his hands under her buttocks and twisted her, she said. Every time they took a picture together, his hand slid from her lower back to her buttocks, squeezing her from time to time, she said.
The applicant said that she repeatedly strayed from the road or grabbed him by the wrist, hoping that he would receive the message that she did not like him.
On the way home, she and her friends talked about “how strange it is that he touches me this way,” as this has never happened before, she said. In the end, she dismissed his behavior tonight as uncharacteristic, she said.
She is expected to continue her testimony on Friday.
In its introductory statement, the Crown said that the applicant and Hogard had planned to meet months later in Toronto, when the girl was 16. Hoghard had a limousine pick up the girl and take her to his hotel in Mississauga, Ont. where prosecutors allege he repeatedly raped her, tried anal sex, slapped her and spat in her mouth.
“It lasted several hours,” Slate said.
The girl left early after pretending to be called to work, then blocked Hoghard from texting her and never went to Hadley’s concert again, prosecutors said.
The agreed statement of facts states that the girl went to the hospital on October 12, 2016, nearly two weeks after the alleged incident.
The second complainant met with Hogard on Tinder when he was in Ottawa to introduce himself for WE Day, and the two began exchanging text messages and Snapchat, Crown said.
They planned to meet in Toronto in November 2016, and although the woman expected to have sex, she disagreed, Slate said.
Hogard bought tickets for the train so that the woman could come and see him in Toronto, according to the agreed statement of facts.
Prosecutors say Hogard raped the woman vaginally, anal and orally for several hours, slapped her, spat in her mouth and strangled her so she could not breathe. At one point, says the Crown, he dragged her to the foot bathroom.
The woman returned by train to Ottawa that evening and her roommates are expected to testify that she was “upset, crying and emotional” when she returned home, Slate said. One noticed that she could barely sit and had trouble walking, the Crown said.
She went to the doctor within a week of the alleged incident, according to the agreed statement of facts.
Hogard was arrested and charged in 2018 and was originally due to stand trial in January 2021, but the case was repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed new trials for months.
None of the applicants could be identified under a ban on publication.
This Canadian Press report was first published on May 5, 2022.
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