Jacob Hoggard, the former lead singer of the band Hedley, was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm in June.
He was sentenced to five years in prison by a Toronto judge on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Hoggard has also been placed on a sex offender registry for 20 years, is banned from possessing any weapons for the next decade, is ordered to have no contact with the victim and he must submit his DNA.
The Crown was asking for a sentence of six to seven years, as the prosecution argued Hoggard was a risk to the public.
The sexual assault took place in 2016, in a Toronto hotel room. The woman, who in her early 20’s at the time, testified that Hoggard choked her so hard she thought she was going to die.
During sentencing, Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts said Hoggard’s offence involved “gratuitous degradation” and “gratuitous violence.”
“It is no exaggeration to say that [the woman] is no longer the same person she was before the attack. She was physically hurt … far more significant was the psychological hurt,”
The judge also said Hoggard’s sentence needed to be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
“It must be sufficient to reflect the inherent harmfulness of a manipulative and particularly degrading rape,” she said. “In all the circumstances of this offence and this offender I believe a fit and appropriate sentence is five years.”