TORONTO -
A younger lady alleged to have been sexually assaulted by Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard when she was a young person is anticipated to proceed her testimony at his trial in the present day.
The lady, who first took the stand Thursday afternoon, is considered one of two complainants within the case. Neither could be recognized below a publication ban.
Prosecutors allege Hoggard, the frontman for the rock band Hedley, violently raped the 2 ladies after bringing them to Toronto-area resorts in separate incidents in 2016. Each complainants had travelled from out of city to see him.
An agreed assertion of details says Hoggard had a "sexual encounter" with every of the complainants on the times they got here to his resort.
The singer has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of sexual assault inflicting bodily hurt and considered one of sexual interference, a cost that refers back to the sexual touching of somebody below the age of 16.
In her testimony Thursday, the complainant described assembly Hoggard in a resort car parking zone after an out-of-town live performance she attended at age 12, and beginning to talk instantly with him after a meet-and-greet occasion when she was 15.
She advised the court docket their conversations grew extra sexual over time, notably after they began utilizing Snapchat, an app the place messages and pictures are solely briefly seen. Ultimately the pair exchanged nude pictures, and Hoggard despatched her a video of himself masturbating, she testified.
The lady mentioned Hoggard additionally despatched her romantic messages, saying he beloved her and noticed a future along with her. "It felt nearly like a relationship," she advised the court docket Thursday.
A couple of weeks after they started texting, he organized for her and two mates to come back see Hedley in Toronto and gave them backstage passes, she mentioned.
As soon as backstage, she mentioned Hoggard touched her buttocks repeatedly, which made her uncomfortable. She mentioned she tried to maneuver away or seize his wrist within the hopes that he would perceive she needed him to cease.
Prosecutors allege the 2 later made plans to satisfy in Toronto in September, after the complainant had turned 16. They allege Hoggard had her delivered to his resort in Mississauga, Ont., and repeatedly raped her over a number of hours.
In its opening assertion Thursday, the Crown mentioned the second complainant met Hoggard in November after crossing paths with him on Tinder whereas Hedley was in Ottawa.
Later that month, they made plans to satisfy in Toronto, and the Crown alleges Hoggard raped her "again and again" throughout an hours-long encounter in his downtown resort.
Each complainants had been left bleeding, bruised and sore, prosecutors allege.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 6, 2022.
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