Beyond The Verdict

10/01/2026

"Here we go again - different men, same excuses"

Survivors Jessica Baker and Kelly Favro of Beyond The Verdict respond to the Cornell 7 Frat House R**e Allegations.

🔗 See link in bio to read their full statements

10/01/2026

"Here we go again - different men, same excuses"

Survivors Jessica Baker and Kelly Favro of Beyond The Verdict respond to the Cornell 7 Frat House R**e Allegations.

👇 Read their statement below

Survivors respond to the “Cornell 7” Frat House R**e Allegations Jessica Baker: What keeps getting to me is that this story isn’t just about the seven men accused of assaulting Jane Doe. The message about her was posted in a fraternity group chat that reportedly included dozens of men. Who

08/13/2026

NEW INFORMATION: In addition to yesterday's news that Hockey Canada determined the five accused players breached the code of conduct, we also learned that the organization considered additional information that was not part of the criminal trial.

There was this additional exchange between Michael McLeod and teammate Maxime Comtois after they learned there was an investigation, according to TSN's Rick Westhead:

McLeod: “What should I say if they ask why I took the videos tho”
Comtois: “Police is not involved in it just erase them. All the bad video.”
McLeod: “No no. This video is her saying she consented.”
Comtois: “Keep the consent one.”

The existence of a “bad video” has not been proven - perhaps for obvious reasons. But the exchange itself is significant. It shows the players discussing deleting a “bad” video while keeping the one they believed proved E.M. consented.

Much of the conversation around these new developments have focused on Hockey Canada, the five players, their suspensions, and information the criminal court never heard.

But we keep coming back to E.M. Too often, the survivor disappears from the story....

Read our full statement of response at the Beyond The Verdict site below.

An independent Hockey Canada appeal board has confirmed that five of its 2018 world junior players breached its code of conduct , according to a report published yesterday by TSN’s Rick Westhead. Much of the conversation around this new development has focused on Hockey Canada, the five players

07/08/2026

"I spent a decade defending myself while he now admits he knew the truth all along." - Jessica Baker

Former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard has been granted day parole. But the Parole Board’s decision includes a revelation Jessica has waited ten years for: Hoggard admitted he did not have her consent, and he knew what he had done was wrong all along. He also acknowledged the “violence of re-victimization” in forcing a trial.

Crucially, the Parole Board described Hoggard’s behaviour as having a pattern of “manipulation, predation, and sexual violence”. This is deeply significant for the other two young women who testified against him and did not receive guilty verdicts.

Jessica has released a statement reflecting on the Parole Board’s written decision, why she wasn’t at the hearing herself, and what she hopes to see at the next one.

Read Jessica’s full statement - and the Parole Board’s written decision, there.

Image of Jessica Baker is from Breaking Idol directed by Tiffany Hsiung.

"I spent a decade defending myself while he now admits he knew the truth all along." - Jessica Baker

06/16/2026

Sadly, Jessica Baker had no prior notice about this parole hearing.

Thank you to Raju Mudhar at the Toronto Star for alerting us — Jess is collecting her thoughts and will share a statement soon.

For now: Hoggard’s display of “remorse” is hard to take seriously when he insisted he did nothing wrong at both trials and has never apologized to Jessica or the other two victim‑complainants.

Please keep them in your thoughts and show them some support in the comments 👇

06/05/2026

Great segment featuring survivor and Beyond The Verdict co-founder Kelly Favro ❤

Reminder to the hockey bros doing unpaid PR for Carter Hart:

The judge’s conclusion was legal, not moral. The trial evidence shows Hart and his teammates knew their actions in that hotel room were not right — that’s why they scrambled into damage control with a group chat to "get on the same page".

It is possible to acknowledge this fact while also cheering for your team...

Las Vegas Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart is chasing the Stanley ...

05/27/2026

As a survivor-led initiative, Beyond the Verdict wants survivors watching this unfold to know that your feelings are valid.

Watching the Vegas Golden Knights advance to the Stanley Cup final has been heavy. We’re once again being reminded that even though public conversations move on, trauma often does not.

Read our full statement here:
https://www.beyondtheverdict.ca/news/vegas-golden-knights-stanley-cup

For years, survivors have been told that accusations "ruin lives and careers." Yet here we are once again watching elite athletes continue competing at the highest levels of professional sport, celebrated on national television and cheered in packed arenas.

03/26/2026

An Update on Bill C-246

Bill C-246 has unfortunately failed.

Survivors are asked to relive multiple acts of sexual violence in court - in detail, under oath, and under pressure.

And still, when it comes time for accountability, those harms are often treated as one.

This bill asked for a closer look at that, but it will not go further.

We would like to sincerely thank MP Rachael Thomas for her efforts, and all those who voted in favour of ensuring survivors had a chance at something better than what there currently is.

We won’t stop saying it - survivors deserve a system that recognizes the full weight of what they’ve lived through.

- Beyond the Verdict

03/10/2026

A guilty verdict is not the end of justice for survivors. Sentencing matters too.

In many sexual assault cases, prosecutors lay multiple charges because each assault is its own crime under the law. But when someone is convicted of more than one offence, those sentences are often served at the same time. The reality is that these convictions currently carry the same sentence as a single conviction.

For survivors, that can feel like parts of what happened simply disappear at sentencing.

Bill C-246 is raising an important conversation about whether each sexual offence should carry its own weight in the final sentence. This recognizes harm.

When survivors go through the courage and trauma of reporting, re-traumatizing themselves testifying, and reliving in court in a room packed full of strangers what happened, every single part of that harm should matter.

We encourage all parliamentarians to support C-246 on Wednesday March 11th. Parliament is set to debate the principle of the bill and if it passes this stage, it will move to committee where expert and survivor voices help shape the final law.

Justice does not stop at conviction. Accountability must be reflected in sentencing too.

Survivor voices belong in the conversations shaping our laws. Beyond the Verdict will continue working to ensure lived experience is always part of the conversation surrounding justice reforms.

- Beyond the Verdict

02/28/2026

We are closely following the sexual assault trial of Canadian billionaire businessman Frank Stronach, and we need to address what we are hearing in that courtroom so far.

“She must be lying” is a discredited r**e myth.

Please see our statement below.
https://www.beyondtheverdict.ca/news/stronachtrial

- Beyond The Verdict is a Canadian survivor-led advocacy group supporting sexual assault survivors by challenging misinformation in the courtroom and advocating for trauma-informed justice.

“She must be lying” is a discredited r**e myth.