Inmate Jacob Hoggard being transferred to North Bay Jail ahead of new sex assault trial

With his second trial sexual assault trial to begin next week in northern Ontario, Jacob Hoggard is expected to be moved to the North Bay Jail.

The disgraced musician, frontman for the band Hedley, recently lost an appeal to be freed on bail while he tries to appeal his first sexual assault conviction.

That appeal was unanimously rejected by the Court of Appeal for Ontario and he is now seeking leave to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Hoggard was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman, an offence the presiding judge called a “particularly degrading rape.”

”The appeals court found the trial judge did not make any errors that would lead them to overturn the conviction.

He began serving his sentence when his appeal was dismissed last month. He applied to be released on bail until his case was heard by the Supreme Court.

The court decision refusing bail referenced his upcoming trial in northern Ontario.

“The applicant is scheduled to face trial in northern Ontario beginning on Sept. 23,” the decision said.

“The Crown intends to obtain a judge’s order to have the applicant transferred to the North Bay Jail for the duration of that trial.”

Hoggard is being tried for sexual assault related to an incident in Kirkland Lake on June 25, 2016. The trial is expected to last seven days, but two weeks have been set aside.