Psychologist's 'irrelevant testimony' at Jacob Hoggard's trial should not have been admitted: lawyers
CTV
Lawyers representing Jacob Hoggard say “irrelevant” testimony from a clinical psychologist at the sexual assault trial for the former Hedley frontman should never had been admitted and are asking that a new trial be ordered, according to a filing with the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Lawyers representing Jacob Hoggard say “irrelevant” testimony from a clinical psychologist at the sexual assault trial for the former Hedley frontman should never had been admitted and are asking that a new trial be ordered, according to a filing with the Ontario Court of Appeal.
In 2022, a jury found Hoggard guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm in connection with an assault on a woman in a Toronto hotel room on Nov. 22, 2016.
During the trial, a court heard that Hoggard met the woman, whose identity is protected under a court-ordered publication ban, through Tinder. The two later arranged for her to travel from Ottawa to Toronto to meet for sex, according to testimony given at trial.
The woman told the court that once inside the hotel room, Hoggard “became a completely different person” and a “complete psychopath,” choking her and raping her repeatedly.
Hoggard, who denied the allegations and claimed that the sex was consensual, was found guilty by a jury in June of 2022. Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts sentenced Hoggard to five years in prison and he is currently out on bail pending the outcome of his appeal.
Hoggard had also been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual interference in connection with a teenage complainant, but he was acquitted of those charges.
In written arguments filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal earlier this month, his lawyers argued that the trial judge “committed several errors” in admitting the evidence of Dr. Lori Haskell, a clinical psychologist who was the first to testify at the sexual assault trial.
