The truth, finally: Jessica Baker’s response to Jacob Hoggard’s first parole hearing
July 7, 2026
“As a victim in this case, I’m disappointed to learn that Jacob Hoggard was granted day parole to a halfway house after serving 22 months of his five-year sentence.
But the Parole Board of Canada’s written decision contains something I’ve waited nearly ten years to see: Mr. Hoggard finally admitted I did not consent. He admitted he knew what he’d done was wrong when the allegations became public, but said he denied it because he was embarrassed and afraid.
I spent a decade defending myself while he now admits he knew the truth all along.
For years, I was called a liar by him, his fans and people close to him, while he maintained what the Parole Board described as his “fiction of innocence.” Reading that phrase is validating — and painful.
It was also meaningful to see the Board ask Mr. Hoggard to acknowledge “the violence of re‑victimization in putting the victim through a trial,” and that he actually did. He forced a brutal trial, allowing his lawyer to attack my credibility for days with outdated rape myths, stereotypes and repeated attempts to bypass rape shield laws. It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. While I’m relieved he recognizes the harm, I’m still carrying the psychological and financial consequences of it.
This decision also matters for the other women who complained.
The Parole Board’s decision is also meaningful for the other two young women who testified against him at his Toronto trial and Kirkland Lake trial and did not receive guilty verdicts. The Board made clear it was not determining criminal guilt, but it did consider their allegations when assessing his risk to public safety. According to the written decision, Mr. Hoggard’s offence against me appeared to be part of “a pattern of manipulation, predation, and sexual violence.” I hope the other women read this decision and feel some measure of validation too.
He apologized to the Parole Board, but has never apologized to me.
At the recent hearing, Mr. Hoggard apologized to the Parole Board for the harm he caused. He has never apologized to me. In the hours after I left his hotel room crying uncontrollably, he texted me trying to gaslight me into believing we’d had a “wonderful time.” I told him he raped me and I wanted an apology. He refused then, and he has not apologized to me yet. Unfortunately, Mr. Hoggard’s first parole hearing happened without my knowledge or participation because I was unaware that victims needed to register for parole updates. Learning of it after the fact was distressing, but I’m grateful the Board represented my interests through its decision.
I will be present for the next hearing, and I hope that if Mr. Hoggard is sincere, he will apologize to me directly as well.
Real accountability means acknowledging the harm directly to the people you hurt.
It means taking responsibility for the years of denial, public attacks, gaslighting and re‑victimization that followed.
I know he won’t be in prison forever. But the consequences of his actions don’t end with his sentence. They continue in my body, my memories and in the work it takes to feel safe in the world again.
My sentence for surviving his assault does not come with a release date. I am still here. So are the other women who came forward. And every day we continue living, healing, and rebuilding our lives is a testament to our strength.
Thank you.”
- Jessica Baker
Survivor and Co-founder, Beyond The Verdict