Rocker Jacob Hoggard of Hedley gets 5 years for ‘particularly degrading rape’

The lead singer for defunct rock band Hedley was sentenced Thursday to a five-year prison term by a judge in Canada who described his sexual assault on an Ottawa woman as an act of “gratuitous degradation” and “violence.”

During his trial, Jacob Hoggard pleaded not guilty, but told jurors he enjoyed spitting on and slapping women, which may have happened when he and the victim spent hours together in a Toronto hotel room in November 2016 having what he called “passionate” sex. The singer denied the victim’s claims that he choked her to where she thought she might die.

“I was never the same after that day,” the victim told the court. “A part of me died that day that I will never get back.”

Hoggard was convicted in June after a jury spent six days weighing the facts in the case of that woman, who was in her 20s at the time. He had also been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage fan who’d accused him of sexual assault causing bodily harm. The Canadian rock star claimed he had consensual sex with both women.

The 38-year-old British Columbia native rose to prominence in 2004 after taking third place in the gameshow “Canadian Idol.” After performing together for 15 years and recording seven studio albums, Hedley went on hiatus in 2018 amid accusations against its frontman. Their hits included the 2009 single “Cha-ching,” which they performed during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

With News Wire Services