Drug dealer caught in Sudbury, Ont., was once tortured by rebels in Ghana

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A background report aimed at helping determine how much jail time a fentanyl dealer should serve reveals a traumatic past that includes periods of sexual abuse, homelessness and torture.

A Sudbury judge still sentenced Joseph Hoggar to 10 years in jail, saying that was the lowest sentence he could impose in light of the seriousness of the crimes he committed.

Hoggar was found guilty in October 2024 of numerous offences, including weapons possession and trafficking in fentanyl and cocaine.

“The gravity of these offences includes the fact that Mr. Hoggar was trafficking significant amounts of fentanyl and cocaine to a vulnerable, at-risk population in northern Ontario that has suffered exponential harm,” Justice Leonard Kim wrote in his decision, which was released last month.

“Additionally, the real danger posed by possessing a loaded handgun elevated the risk of death or serious bodily harm in this context. This must be balanced with the many mitigating circumstances of Mr. Hoggar that include his own traumatic upbringing.”

The southern Ontario resident was arrested in Sudbury in April 2023 and a search of him and his vehicle uncovered 668.8 grams of cocaine, 141.59 grams of fentanyl, more than $50,000 in cash, a 9 mm Glock handgun, packing material and three cellphones.

School parking lot

The value of the drugs and cash was as much as $161,000.

Sudbury police had been watching him operate out of a known drug house in the city and arrested him the morning of April 19, 2023, after an interaction with a male in a parking lot next to an elementary school.

A report prepared for sentencing said that Hoggar, 34, was raised by his mother and stepfather in Toronto. He was sent to a foster home when he was eight or nine years old, where he endured sexual abuse.

“Because his mother was concerned about the negative influences permeating his surroundings, his mother sent him overseas to Ghana at the age of 15,” the court decision said.

“This displaced him away from his siblings and his parents for some five years.”

Whatever his mother wanted to shield him from in Toronto, what he experienced in Ghana was worse. He ran away from the home where he was living because of abuse and neglect and ended up living on the streets.

“He was captured by rebels and tortured for two days,” the court decision said.

“He returned to Canada some five years later at the age of 20 but never dealt with the stress and trauma that he experienced throughout his formative years.”

He ended up addicted to crack when he returned to Toronto, but managed to beat his addiction. Hoggar is in a long-term relationship with his common-law spouse and they have a young son.

He graduated from high school in 2018 and began operating his own trucking company.

“However, due to the negative publicity related to the current charges, he lost all his business contracts and his two residences he shared with his partner,” the decision said.

“The economic impact suffered is profound.”

Hoggar also suffered a brain aneurysm in June 2024 that required surgery.

“According to Mr. Hoggar’s common-law spouse, this medical condition affects Mr. Hoggar’s frontal lobe, which controls decision-making, impulse control and judgment,” the decision said.

Police also breached his Charter rights when they delayed notifying him they had found the gun, cash and drugs in his vehicle, which “resulted in a delayed second opportunity to consult with his counsel of choice while in custody.”

Despite these factors, Justice Kim said Hoggar resisted arrest, had a loaded gun and prior convictions for drug trafficking in 2015. And most importantly, he sold fentanyl, a particularly devastating drug.

“Sudbury is one of many northern communities that has suffered amongst the highest rates of opioid toxicity mortality rates in 2023, the same year Mr. Hoggar was caught actively trafficking in fentanyl and cocaine in Sudbury,” Kim said in his decision.

Motivated by financial gain

“His illicit activities were motivated by financial gain and increased the risk of death and serious bodily harm to an already vulnerable population in the northern region of the province. He was trafficking in a scheduled substance directly beside an elementary school and in residential areas.”

Trafficking in fentanyl is particularly harmful not only for users, but for their families and first responders, the judge said.

“The dangers of cocaine and other hard drugs do not come close to the degree of harm fentanyl causes each day in our country,” he wrote.

“In recent years, fentanyl has emerged as a potent killer of individuals from coast to coast and has exponentially harmful impacts on the lives of so many today.”

The fact that he was selling drugs that do so much harm just for personal profit is an especially aggravating factor, Kim wrote.

“As Sudbury maintains one of the highest jurisdictions for opioid overdoses in the province, so too must there be an upward trend in the length of penitentiary sentences to be imposed by our courts,” Kim wrote.

“Anything less would send the wrong message to those that contemplate the business decision to exploit the lives of vulnerable drug addicts for easy money.”

Hoggar received eight years for drug trafficking and four years for the weapons charges. With the 12-year sentence reduced to 10 years, and minus credits for time served, Hoggar has 8.2 years left to serve in his sentence.

Read the full decision here.

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.