TORONTO-
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard is on trial today for sexual assault.
In an opening statement to the jury this morning, defense attorney Megan Savard said Hoggard is expected to testify that he had consensual sex with the two complainants.
Hedgard, the leader of the Hedley gang, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm and one of sexual interference, a charge related to the sexual contact of a person under the age of 16.
It is an accepted fact in the case that Hoggard arranged for each of the complainants, one of whom was 16 at the time, to meet him at hotels in the Toronto area on two different occasions in the fall of 2016.
Prosecutors allege that once at the hotel, Hoggard violently and repeatedly raped the complainants, leaving them bleeding and bruised.
The Crown finished presenting its evidence earlier last week. The defense says he also hopes to call a limousine driver who drove one of the complainants to meet Hoggard as a witness.
None of the complainants can be identified under a publication ban, or several other witnesses.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 24, 2022