A recently deceased Newcastle woman has convicted her ex-partner of assault from the grave.
Jason Hoganson, 53, denied a charge of assault by beating and two charges of breaching a restraining order.
He was convicted of all three offences following a trial at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on Friday, 24th January 2025.
Former Hollywood actor Hoganson, who sports very distinctive body art, made the headlines when he was photographed being released from HMP Durham on 10th September 2024, which was the first day of the Government's early release scheme.
The 53-year-old was serving an 18-month sentence for assaulting his ex-partner, Rachel Usher, and breaching a restraining order that bans him from all contact with her. He was released at around the half-way mark.
A week prior to his release Hoganson further breached the order by sending Ms Usher a letter. Within a few hours of being released he attended Ms Usher's home, again in breach of the order, to give her another slap. Hoganson denied these offences, which were the subject of the trial.
Ms Usher very sadly died on 30th October, having already made a statement to the police about Hoganson assaulting her on 11th September. Deputy District Judge Natalie Wortley, presiding, had previously ruled that this statement could be admitted as hearsay evidence during the trial.
Lisa Callum, prosecuting, read Ms Usher's statement to the court. In it she described how she had just ventured out for some shopping. She was waiting in the stairwell for her lift to arrive when she saw Hoganson running towards the block.
Ms Usher's statement continued: "He opened the door of the stairwell and slapped me across the side of my face.
"He was shouting and bawling and seemed really angry. He called me a slut and said there was someone in my flat.
"He said can we go somewhere and when I said no he got even more angry."
Ms Usher said that the slap was powerful, but had caused no injury.
Hoganson denied slapping Ms Usher, saying that he had visited the block to collect some belongings from a friend who also lived there.
He said that he bumped into Ms Usher when he was using the lift.
Hoganson said: "Obviously she panicked. She came straight for me and went to attack me. I've moved out of the way down the stairs. I've never attacked Rachel. I never even spoke to her, I just wanted to get out of there."
Ms Callum asked Hoganson why his friend was not present in court to corroborate his story. Hoganson replied that the man and Ms Usher had been having an affair. He then started shouting obscenities from the dock, which resulted in his removal from the courtroom.
Just like Judge Rinder, DDJ Wortley can smell a lie like a fart in a lift. That being the case, she had no difficulty in convicting Hoganson of all three offences. The judge noted that Hoganson's account of bumping into Ms Usher was inconsistent with CCTV footage.
Hoganson was further remanded in custody until his sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, 25th February 2025.
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