Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a former Canadian musician who was the lead singer for the pop rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004 when he placed third.

Jacob Hoggard
Hoggard performing in 2008
Hoggard performing in 2008
Background information
Birth nameJacob William Hoggard
Born (1984-07-09) July 9, 1984 (age 40)
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
OriginAbbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
GenresRock, pop
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active2004–2018
Formerly ofHedley

In 2018, Hoggard was arrested and charged with sexual assault. He has since been found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm and sentenced to five years in prison. After an appeal was dismissed, Hoggard began serving a five year sentence and was found not guilty of facing a third charge of sexual assault by a jury in northeastern Ontario.

Early life

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Jacob Hoggard was born on July 9, 1984, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.[1] He was raised in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Surrey, British Columbia.[2] He is of partial Italian origin.[3][4] He was educated in Surrey, British Columbia, at Senator Reid Elementary School and Mennonite Educational Institute, Yale Secondary School in Abbotsford and at L.A. Matheson Secondary School, he was also in the City Central Learning Centre.[5]

Career

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Hoggard started his career on Canadian Idol.[6] He appeared on the second season of the show and made it to the final three. He formed the band Hedley along with Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Chris Crippin. The band released their debut single "On My Own", which reached number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart.[7]

In 2010, Hoggard took part of Young Artists for Haiti and the song reached number 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 charts.[8]

Hoggard took part of Artists Against Bullying in 2012 to record and release a remake of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" for Bullying Awareness Week.[9] Hoggard was host of the Juno Awards of 2015.[10]

Personal life

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Hoggard married his high school sweetheart in 2005, which ended in divorce in 2009.[11] Hoggard married Canadian actress Rebekah Asselstine on December 31, 2018 at the age of 34.[12]

Sexual offenses

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In 2005, Hoggard and his band members were suspects in a sexual assault case where a minor was found unconscious and shoeless outside a London, Ontario, venue where the band had played. Rohypnol was present in the victim's blood. The police investigation ended when the victim refused a rape kit and the band sent the venue management a letter stating any discussion of the incident would result in a lawsuit.[13]

In March 2018, he announced that he would be stepping away from his music career indefinitely following Hedley's tour.[14] Since announcing the indefinite hiatus from Hedley following the sexual assault allegations, Hoggard testified in court on May 24, 2022, that he has made a living as a carpenter in British Columbia.[15][16]

On July 23, 2018, Hoggard was charged with one count of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm, involving a child under 16 and a woman.[17] Originally scheduled for November 28, 2018,[18] his trial was postponed several times and eventually began on May 2, 2022.[19] On June 5, 2022, a Toronto jury found Hoggard guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman in the fall of 2016.[20] The jury also acquitted Hoggard of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old child who was a fan and one count of sexual interference.[21] On October 20, 2022, Hoggard was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting an Ottawa woman.[22]

Hoggard was also charged in March 2022 with sexual assault causing bodily harm regarding a June 2016 encounter in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The charge was made public on June 2. Hoggard was scheduled to appear in court on August 4, 2022.[23] This accuser testified in September 2024 that Hoggard allegedly raped, hit and choked her before urinating on her in a hotel room after a Hedley concert.[24] Hoggard was acquitted of the charge on October 4, 2024.[25]

On August 16, 2024, Ontario's top court upheld the sexual assault conviction of Hoggard, dismissing his appeal and confirming his five-year prison sentence. It was confirmed that he has started to serve his sentence behind bars.[26] On September 13, Ontario's top court dismissed Hoggard's application for bail, leading Hoggard to attempt an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.[27][28]

Filmography

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Week Theme Song choice Artist Result
Audition N/A "Forever in Blue Jeans" Neil Diamond Advanced
Top 32 "Only the Good Die Young" Billy Joel
Top 10 Canadian Hits "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" Paul Anka Safe
Top 9 British Invasion "Space Oddity" David Bowie
Top 8 Rock & Roll "Everything" Lifehouse
Top 7 Lionel Richie "Brick House" Lionel Richie
Top 6 Gordon Lightfoot "Sundown" Gordon Lightfoot Bottom 2
Top 5 Summertime Hits "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Aerosmith Safe
Top 4 Standards "Straighten Up And Fly Right"
"Unforgettable"
Nat King Cole
Top 3 Judges' Choice "If You Don't Know Me by Now"
"I Want You to Want Me"
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Cheap Trick
Eliminated

References

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  1. ^ "Official site of Canadian Idol - CTV's search for Canada's best". CTV.ca. Archived from the original on 14 December 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Interview: Hedley Refuses to Be Idol". Dose.ca. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  3. ^ Walker, Liz (28 April 2008). "Rock star Jacob Hoggard's workout a little too hard-core". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Canada: The Woodbridge Company.
  4. ^ "Hedley takes a role in fight against cancer". lfpress.com. 18 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Jacob Hoggard" [permanent dead link], Movie Tome. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  6. ^ "Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard will now stand trial in April". 7 January 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Hedley Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. ^ "BILLBOARD CANADIAN HOT 100 The week of March 27 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Artists Against remake True Colors". Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Jacob Hoggard is host of 2015 Juno Awards". The Toronto Star. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ Stevenson, Jane (29 December 2009). "Hedley singer gets personal with new CD Archived 28 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine", London Free Press. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  12. ^ Mahjouri, Shakiel (1 January 2019). "Report: Hedley's Jacob Hoggard Gets Married On New Year's Eve". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  13. ^ Hughes, Josiah (15 February 2018). "Hedley Were Allegedly Investigated for Drugging Underage Concertgoer". Exclaim Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  14. ^ @JacobHoggard (1 March 2018). "It's time to speak for myself, as I should have done from the beginning…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ @ConsumerSOS (24 May 2022). "Criminal defence lawyer @megan_savard has called Hoggard after telling jury that sex was consensual with two women…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard testifies that sexual encounters with complainants were 'passionate' and consensual". 24 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Hedley singer Jacob Hoggard charged with sexual assault". Global News. 23 July 2018.
  18. ^ "Sexual assault case of Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard put over to Nov. 28". Global News. 7 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Sex assault trial getting underway for Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard". CTVNews. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Judge imposes stricter bail conditions on Jacob Hoggard in light of verdict". Toronto. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard found guilty of sexually assaulting Ottawa woman". www.cbc.ca. CBC. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022. Canadian rock musician Jacob Hoggard was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm after violently raping an Ottawa woman in the fall of 2016, but a Toronto jury acquitted him of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old fan. The former Hedley frontman was also acquitted of one count of sexual interference...
  22. ^ "Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard sentenced to 5 years in prison". Toronto. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  23. ^ Trinh, Judy (31 May 2022). "New charge against Jacob Hoggard surfaces as he awaits verdict in sex assault trial". www.cbc.ca. CBC. Retrieved 5 June 2022. Jacob Hoggard, the former frontman for rock band Hedley, is facing a new rape allegation related to a June 2016 encounter in Kirkland Lake, Ont. Hoggard was charged in March with sexual assault causing bodily harm involving a woman who was 19 at the time. ... Hoggard's next court appearance on the Kirkland Lake charge is scheduled for Aug. 4.
  24. ^ "Tearful complainant alleges Jacob Hoggard raped, choked her after Hedley concert". The Albertan. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault". The Globe and Mail. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  26. ^ The Canadian Press and CBC News. "Court upholds musician Jacob Hoggard's sex assault conviction".
  27. ^ "Ontario's top court dismisses application for bail from Jacob Hoggard". Toronto. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Jury finds Jacob Hoggard not guilty of sexual assault". CBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2024.