Disgraced Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard is in the process of trying to appeal his sexual assault conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada after the province of Ontario decided to uphold the musician's October 2022 sentence of five years in prison for raping an Ottawa woman.
In his legal team's pursuit of bail, more details have now been revealed about Hoggard's conditions at Toronto South Detention Centre, where he is being "housed in a solitary cell" amid facing threats while in custody.
His lawyer, Arash Ghiassi, appeared in a Toronto courtroom via Zoom today, although Hoggard himself did not appear. As per CBC News, he said in a court filing that he has been held at the correctional facility since August 16 and is asking the Court of Appeal to release him on bail as he seeks leave to appeal at the Supreme Court.
"I am placed in the special handling unit because of concerns about my safety resulting from my career as a well-known singer and the media publicity my case has attracted," Hoggard said in an affidavit sworn last week. He said he is allowed out of his cell for one or two hours daily, and has no contact with his fellow inmates at any time.
In court today, Crown attorney Catherine Weiler cited a corrections official as saying when an inmate is placed in protective custody, it's "entirely voluntary." She further suggested that Hoggard's conditions at Toronto South are "damaging … does not appear to be made out."
Hoggard and his legal team are arguing that there are questions of "national and public importance" at play with their case after the Ontario court decided there was "no substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice" with his October 2022 sentencing.
The affidavit revealed that the former singer had more recently been working as a building contractor in British Columbia, making about $80,000 annually. Hoggard said he intended to return to that job if released, with Justice Jill M. Copeland telling the court she would issue a decision on whether to release him on bail at a later date, possibly as early as this week.