Paola Loriggio, Canadian Press Published Friday, June 3, 2022, 3:48 PM EDT Last Updated on Friday, June 3, 2022 7:20 PM EDT
TORONTO – Jurors in the process of sexual assault against Canadian musician Jacob Hogard began reviewing hours of testimony on Friday night after telling the court that they are still at a dead end.
The jury initially said it was deadlocked on Thursday morning and was returned for further discussion, then returned a little over a day later, saying it could not yet agree on “some” points.
Ontario Supreme Court Justice Gillian Roberts told them to consider whether any additional instructions or review of evidence would help, or if they were in a “real stalemate.”
“There is no other jury that will ever be in a better position than you to decide this case,” the judge said.
“We know you worked very hard … we expect you to be tired and tired. But please don’t feel pressured to finish this by Friday – there is no deadline. “
The jurors returned about an hour later, asking the court to reproduce the testimony of Hoghard and the second applicant in connection with their meeting on 22 November 2016. They began listening to a recording of the evidence and were due to resume on Saturday morning.
Hogard, the vocalist of the band Hadley, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm and one charge of sexual intercourse, a charge involving sexual contact with a person under 16 years of age.
The Crown alleges that Hoghard, 37, brutally and repeatedly raped a teenage fan and a young Ottawa woman in separate incidents in the fall of 2016. He also allegedly groped the teenager after a Hadley show in April 2016. when she was 15 years old.
The defense claims that the palpation did not take place and that both sexual encounters were by mutual consent. Defense attorneys allege that the applicants made allegations of rape in order to cover up their embarrassment by being rejected by Hogard.
Earlier on Friday, jurors sought more help from the court on how to use the evidence in a telephone conversation between Hogard and the second applicant, which was recorded without her knowledge days after the alleged sexual encounter.
Earlier, Roberts told them that the call could be used to assess the applicant’s behavior and state of mind, and on Friday they asked for clarification on the legal definition of “state of mind” and how to apply it in assessing the call.
The judge said that the state of mind is defined as “faith, perceptions, emotions or intentions.”
The jurors may, but are not required to, conclude from the conversation that the second applicant is upset, the judge told them. If they do, then they need to ask themselves what she is upset about, she said.
The Crown alleges that the applicant was upset because she was sexually assaulted, while the Defense alleges that she was humiliated, Roberts said.
This Canadian Press report was first published on June 3, 2022.
Add Comment