Jon Lent — former Mac DeMarco keyboardist/bassist — has been sentenced to two years less one day in jail for sexual assault.
As Pitchfork reports, the musician was arrested by the Edmonton Police Service on December 19, 2018, on one count of sexual assault. His arrest followed claims issued by an individual identifying only as "S" in conversation with the publication.
S detailed the events leading up to the assault, stating that she first met Lent as a fan after following DeMarco and all his bandmates on Instagram. Lent and S eventually started talking online and agreed to meet at a bar in Edmonton in early April 2018. S said the assault occurred on April 14, and that she reported the incident to police immediately.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
"I went to the hospital and I had the rape kit, got interviewed with the investigator," she told Pitchfork.
Lent and S did not speak for the months following the assault, though S explained that he sent her a text message about the incident in October of that same year.
"I've been thinking a lot about what I did and I realize that what I said was a misunderstanding was truly more a lack of consent," Lent reportedly wrote. "I was fully in the wrong and I feel awful about it. It's really been eating me up inside. I feel my initial apology sounded insincere and I just want you to know how much I've regretted what I did. I acted cruelly and in a hurtful manner and have been afraid to acknowledge this and I realized that in ignoring what I did I've been making it worse."
S later showed the message to the authorities, who found its content to be sufficient evidence for Lent's arrest, and he was taken into custody on December 19, 2018, after the musician returned from an international tour with Mac DeMarco.
Lent pleaded guilty at his trial earlier this year was convicted of sexual assault on April 12. Pitchfork reports that on June 3, he was sentenced to two years less one day in a provincial jail. It remains unclear when Lent was scheduled to begin his sentence.
DeMarco's representatives offered the following statement about Lent's case via email to the publication:
Lent first told Mac about the sexual assault allegations in April 2021. Mac has not spoken to Lent since that conversation. Lent last played with Mac in January 2020. Upon learning of these allegations, Lent was immediately removed from the Mac DeMarco Band.
DeMarco added via the representative, "I am no longer personally associated with Lent. I would like to respect the privacy of the survivor."
S noted that she has since not been able to listen to the band's music, as the reminders of the assault made her feel "terrible." She explained that she has since enrolled in group therapy three times for a total of nine months' treatment.
"I can't express how painful it is to be surrounded by reminders, and to see Mac DeMarco carry on like nothing happened," S wrote in an email to Pitchfork in October. "I have been waiting years for accountability from Jon Lent and Mac DeMarco. I can't wait any longer."
As Pitchfork reports, the musician was arrested by the Edmonton Police Service on December 19, 2018, on one count of sexual assault. His arrest followed claims issued by an individual identifying only as "S" in conversation with the publication.
S detailed the events leading up to the assault, stating that she first met Lent as a fan after following DeMarco and all his bandmates on Instagram. Lent and S eventually started talking online and agreed to meet at a bar in Edmonton in early April 2018. S said the assault occurred on April 14, and that she reported the incident to police immediately.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
"I went to the hospital and I had the rape kit, got interviewed with the investigator," she told Pitchfork.
Lent and S did not speak for the months following the assault, though S explained that he sent her a text message about the incident in October of that same year.
"I've been thinking a lot about what I did and I realize that what I said was a misunderstanding was truly more a lack of consent," Lent reportedly wrote. "I was fully in the wrong and I feel awful about it. It's really been eating me up inside. I feel my initial apology sounded insincere and I just want you to know how much I've regretted what I did. I acted cruelly and in a hurtful manner and have been afraid to acknowledge this and I realized that in ignoring what I did I've been making it worse."
S later showed the message to the authorities, who found its content to be sufficient evidence for Lent's arrest, and he was taken into custody on December 19, 2018, after the musician returned from an international tour with Mac DeMarco.
Lent pleaded guilty at his trial earlier this year was convicted of sexual assault on April 12. Pitchfork reports that on June 3, he was sentenced to two years less one day in a provincial jail. It remains unclear when Lent was scheduled to begin his sentence.
DeMarco's representatives offered the following statement about Lent's case via email to the publication:
Lent first told Mac about the sexual assault allegations in April 2021. Mac has not spoken to Lent since that conversation. Lent last played with Mac in January 2020. Upon learning of these allegations, Lent was immediately removed from the Mac DeMarco Band.
DeMarco added via the representative, "I am no longer personally associated with Lent. I would like to respect the privacy of the survivor."
S noted that she has since not been able to listen to the band's music, as the reminders of the assault made her feel "terrible." She explained that she has since enrolled in group therapy three times for a total of nine months' treatment.
"I can't express how painful it is to be surrounded by reminders, and to see Mac DeMarco carry on like nothing happened," S wrote in an email to Pitchfork in October. "I have been waiting years for accountability from Jon Lent and Mac DeMarco. I can't wait any longer."
