Ontario’s top court dismisses application for bail from Jacob Hoggard

TORONTO — Jacob Hoggard will remain behind bars while he tries to appeal his sexual assault conviction at Canada’s top court, a justice with Ontario’s Appeal Court ruled Friday, calling the musician’s attempt unlikely to succeed.

Justice Jill Copeland heard arguments at a bail hearing for Hoggard earlier this week, shortly after the Hedley frontman began serving his five-year sentence.

“At this stage of the proceedings, where the applicant’s conviction has been unanimously affirmed by this court and it appears unlikely that he will be granted leave to appeal, I am satisfied that the public interest in enforcing the sentence imposed on the applicant outweighs his interest in a second review of his conviction,” Copeland wrote in her decision.

“If the Supreme Court of Canada grants leave to appeal, the balance may change and a reassessment of the applicant’s bail status may be warranted.”

Defence lawyer Gerald Chan said Hoggard was “disappointed,” but respected the court’s decision.

Hoggard was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman. He was also found not guilty of the same charge and of sexual interference, a charge that refers to the sexual touching of someone under 16, in relation to a teenage fan.

He was later sentenced to five years in prison, and granted bail within hours of the sentencing pending an appeal at Ontario’s top court.

The province’s Appeal Court upheld his conviction last month, which saw him begin to serve his sentence.

Last week, Hoggard filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and sought bail at Ontario’s Appeal Court.

His application to the Supreme Court argued that the Appeal Court failed to apply the proper test in determining whether an error made by the trial judge constituted a “harmless error.”

It further argued that the proposed appeal raises questions of “national and public importance” that relate to the fairness of the trial and Hoggard’s submission that he was wrongfully convicted.

Copeland found that Hoggard’s leave to appeal application, while not frivolous, was “weak” and unlikely to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The top court typically takes about three to six months to decide whether to hear an appeal, Copeland noted. Hoggard has so far served about one month of his five-year sentence.

“Denying bail at least until the leave application is decided will not render the applicant’s attempt to seek further review of his conviction meaningless by requiring him to serve most or all of his sentence before the leave application is decided,” the decision said.

“He will still have years to serve when the Supreme Court decides the leave application.”

The musician, whose band rose to fame after he came in third on the reality show Canadian Idol in 2004, was charged in 2018.

Hedley went on an indefinite hiatus when allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced and played its last show in March 2018.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press