Musician Jacob Hoggard requests bail, says he's in solitary jail cell amid threats

Disgraced musician Jacob Hoggard says he's faced threats while in custody and is being held in solitary confinement, as his lawyers mount another appeal of his sexual assault conviction.

The former Hedley frontman's lawyer, Arash Ghiassi, appeared in a Toronto courtroom by Zoom on Tuesday morning.

Hoggard's legal team is seeking to have Hoggard, 40, again released on bail, pending a Supreme Court of Canada appeal of his conviction.

Hoggard filed an application seeking leave to appeal his case to the country's top court last week.

The ex-singer did not appear in the Court of Appeal for Ontario on Tuesday. He said in a court filing reviewed by CBC News that he's been held since Aug. 16 at the Toronto South Detention Centre and is now "housed in a solitary cell."

"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's allowed out of his cell one to two hours a day and has no contact with other inmates at any time.

In court on Tuesday, Crown attorney Catherine Weiler cited a corrections official as saying when an inmate is placed in protective custody, it's "entirely voluntary."

Weiler said the suggestion that Hoggard's detention conditions are "damaging … does not appear to be made out."

Hoggard was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman and later sentenced to five years behind bars. 

He was released on bail hours later pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. 

Seeking release on bail

A three-judge panel ultimately upheld Hoggard's conviction last month, and he surrendered into custody. He is asking the Court of Appeal to order him released on bail as he seeks leave to appeal at the Supreme Court. 

Hoggard's notice of application for leave to appeal argues the three-judge panel erred in its decision and says there are questions of "national and public importance" at play in the case.

Hoggard said in the affidavit he'd recently been making about $80,000 a year, working as a building contractor in B.C. He said he would intend to go back to that job if he's released.

Justice Jill M. Copeland said she would issue a decision on whether to release Hoggard on bail at a later date, possibly as early as this week.