Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard have been told to keep deliberating after indicating they are unable to reach a unanimous agreement on some counts.
The jury alerted the court that it was deadlocked Thursday morning, roughly 15 hours into its deliberations, which began Tuesday afternoon.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts instructed them to keep trying and to listen to each other’s views with an open mind.
Hoggard, the lead singer of the band Hedley, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm and one of sexual interference, a charge that refers to the sexual touching of someone under 16.
Prosecutors allege he violently and repeatedly raped a teenage fan and a young Ottawa woman in separate incidents in the fall of 2016. They also allege he groped the teen after a Hedley show in Toronto in April 2016, when she was 15.
The defence contends the complainants had consensual sex with Hoggard and lied about it later to cover up their embarrassment after being rejected.
