Hoggard case sparks debate over release of mug shots
TORONTO — The release of a stark mug shot featuring rock star Jacob Hoggard has raised questions about how Toronto police decide when and why to make public such images.
Upon its release on Monday, many observers took to social media to wonder why a photo of the Hedley frontman — charged with three sexual offences involving two females — was so readily available when the image of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur was not.
The McArthur case has been an especially sore point for community activist Nicki Ward, who has criticized police for refusing to issue McArthur’s photo.
As a result, she said, many outlets have resorted to publishing pictures from his social media feeds, including one oftenused image in which he smiles softly beside a rainbow and another in which he is dressed in a Santa Claus suit.
A spokesman for the Toronto Police Service said the force has strict criteria in deciding when to release such material.
“There has to be what we call a valid investigative purpose,” Mark Pugash said. “That could include somebody who is at large and poses a risk to the public, and certainly, in helping to find missing people.”
A third reason is “if we are concerned that there might be more victims,” which police say was the driving factor in the investigation in which Hoggard is charged.
Toronto police issued Hoggard’s photo along with a news statement saying the former Canadian Idol contestant was charged with sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault involving a woman and a girl.
The statement added: “Police are concerned there may be other victims.”
Ward wonders if a double standard is being applied, since police did not rule out the possibility of more victims when they first arrested and named McArthur as a suspect in several killings in Toronto’s gay village.
Too often, more deference and media airtime is given to the accused, while victims are “shamed and blamed,” she said, noting that published photos of some of the victims associated with the McArthur charges were not flattering.
In particular, she said, alleged serial-killing victim Dean Lisowick’s portrayal “was particularly sad” and believed his photo sent the message that Lisowick was “perhaps less deserving of sympathy.” Images matter, Ward said. “There’s no question that the perceived social status and/or [whether you’re] homeless or not homeless has a direct bearing on the quality of justice that you receive,” she said.