Mac DeMarco at Barclays Center
photo by P Squared

Jon Lent, former Mac Demarco bassist, sentenced to 2 years in jail for sexual assault

Jon Lent, who played bass in Mac Demarco‘s band from 2015 to this year, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in an Edmonton, Alberta court on April 12, 2021. Pitchfork reports Lent was sentenced to two years less one day in provincial jail. The conviction stemmed from an incident on April 14 of 2018 and he was arrested on charges in December of that year.

The woman Lent assaulted, who is identified only as S, brought his conviction to the attention of Pitchfork and told them she met Lent after following DeMarco and his band members on Instagram. They exchanged messages for about six months before meeting up in Edmonton. They first met on April 10 or 11 and the incident happened on April 14. S told Pitchfork she reported it to authorities right after it happened. “I went to the hospital and I had the rape kit, got interviewed with the investigator,” she said.

Lent and S were not in contact for several months after, but he sent her a text message, which has been viewed by Pitchfork, on October 3, writing, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I did and I realize that what I said was a misunderstanding was truly more a lack of consent. I was fully in the wrong and I feel awful about it. It’s really been eating me up inside. I feel my initial apology sounded insincere and I just want you to know how much I’ve regretted what I did. I acted cruelly and in a hurtful manner and have been afraid to acknowledge this and I realized that in ignoring what I did I’ve been making it worse.” S showed that message to authorities, which led to his arrest once Lent was back in Canada from tour.

While Lent continued to play in DeMarco’s band, representatives for DeMarco told Pitchfork that he was unaware of the allegations until April, 2021.  “Lent first told Mac about the sexual assault allegations in April 2021. Mac has not spoken to Lent since that conversation. Lent last played with Mac in January 2020. Upon learning of these allegations, Lent was immediately removed from the Mac DeMarco Band.” DeMarco said in a statement via his representatives, “I am no longer personally associated with Lent. I would like to respect the privacy of the survivor.”

Read Pitchfork’s report for more information.

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