Convicted sex offender Jacob Hoggard will be free on bail until an appeal of his case is heard, a judge ruled Thursday.
Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Grant Huscroft ruled that the former Hedley singer does not pose a public safety of flight risk. “I am satisfied that his detention is not necessary in the public interest,” he wrote.
Hoggard, 38, was sentenced hours earlier to five years for sexually assaulting a woman six years ago in a Toronto hotel room. He will also be on the sex offender registry for 20 years.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts said Hoggard has not accepted responsibility or shown remorse and has not resolved his "highly manipulative" behaviour towards women.
Justice Huscroft said Hoggard’s lawyer raised “arguable grounds of appeal.”
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Hoggard has been out on bail since his arrest in July 2018. An appeal could take many months – but Huscroft noted that Hoggard “wishes to establish an abbreviated timetable for the appeal, so the bail period may be reasonably brief.”
Hoggard’s legal troubles are not over. The woman he was convicted of sexually assaulting filed a lawsuit in early October against him, seeking $2.8 million in damages.
He is also facing a charge of sexual assault causing bodily harm in connection with an alleged encounter at a Comfort Inn in Kirkland Lake, Ont. in 2016. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17 in Haileybury, Ont.