'A part of me died that day,' says Ottawa woman sexually assaulted by Jacob Hoggard
CBC
An Ottawa woman who was sexually assaulted by Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard nearly six years ago says she was "never the same" after that day.
In an emotional address to a Toronto courtroom this morning, the woman said the Nov. 22, 2016, incident robbed her of her confidence, her dreams and aspirations, and kept her from living her 20s like most other people do.
Instead, she said she cried herself to sleep and prayed not to wake up the next day — something she said still happens six years later.
"A part of me died that day that I will never get back," she said during the first day of Hoggard's sentencing hearing.
"My life as I knew it was stolen from me and shattered beyond recognition. The assault took away my worth, my privacy, my body, my confidence and my voice."
The Crown says it will seek a sentence of six to seven years.
In her victim impact statement Thursday, the Ottawa woman said she was further traumatized after coming forward with her allegations in 2018.
"I was ridiculed online by complete strangers. Women I've never even met were making T-shirts and signs in support of the man that raped me," she said.
The roughly four years it took for the trial to come to completion also added to her trauma, forcing her to relive the sexual assault every time a hearing was rescheduled, she said.
The woman is suing Hoggard for $2.8 million, according to documents obtained Thursday by CBC News.
The lawsuit, dated Oct. 3, 2022, was filed with Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. The statement of claim says that the woman suffered damages and losses as a direct result of the encounter with the Hedley frontman.
Some of the cited losses include a negative impact on her physical and mental health, an inability to finish high school and earn an income, and the impairment of her ability to develop normal relationships.
During Thursday's sentencing hearing, the court heard Hoggard had just been served with the document. A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
A jury found Hoggard, born and raised in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm in June. The incident took place in a Toronto hotel room in 2016. Hoggard is in court Thursday for the sentencing hearing.
