(Haileybury) Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago.
Posted at 7:38 p.m.
Paola Loriggio
The Canadian Press
Jurors in Haileybury, a community in Temiskaming, Ontario, deliberated for less than six hours Friday before returning their unanimous verdict.
The former singer of the group Hedley had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Consent was the central issue in the trial, with the Crown and defense agreeing that Mr. Hoggard had sex with the complainant in her hotel room in Kirkland Lake, Ont., in June 2016.
Prosecutors alleged the former singer raped, strangled, punched and urinated on the then-19-year-old woman, whom he met at a campfire party after the band’s concert.
The defense argued Mr Hoggard had a consensual one-night stand with the complainant after the two flirted and kissed around the fire.
