Former Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Faces Sentencing for Multiple Sexual Assaults in Toronto, with Ongoing Legal Battles in Canada and the US
Fiona Nanna, ForeMedia News
5 minutes read. Updated 2:00PM GMT Wed, 24July, 2024
Peter Nygard, the once-powerful fashion mogul, is set to be sentenced this week in a Canadian court for multiple sexual assaults. Nygard, who formerly led a global fashion empire, was convicted by a Toronto jury last November for assaulting four women, charges he has consistently denied. This sentencing marks only one chapter in the ongoing legal saga of the 83-year-old, who faces additional charges in Montreal, Winnipeg, and the United States, including sexual assault and sex trafficking.
For decades, Nygard wielded considerable influence through Nygard International, a prominent international clothing design, manufacturing, and supply company headquartered in Winnipeg, with significant operations in New York City and California. Despite his substantial wealth—once estimated at $700 million (£542 million)—Nygard has been accused of exploiting his status to systematically abuse and traffic women over many years.
During his six-week trial in Toronto last autumn, prosecutors presented evidence of Nygard’s alleged abuses, detailing incidents that spanned from the late 1980s to 2005. They argued that Nygard used his position to assault five women. In response, Nygard’s defense claimed that four of the five women were motivated by financial gain, asserting that their accusations were part of a broader US class-action lawsuit.
Despite his defense, Nygard was found guilty on four counts of sexual assault and acquitted on one count of forcible confinement. The jury’s verdict has led to Nygard’s impending sentencing, which has faced numerous delays due to the resignation of his lawyers and his declining health. His current lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, sought further postponements to prepare adequately and to gather expert testimony on Nygard’s medical condition. However, Toronto Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein emphasized that no further delays would be permitted unless Nygard were in a coma.
Prosecutors have detailed Nygard’s methods, describing how he lured victims—aged 16 to 28 at the time—to a private, luxurious bedroom in his company’s Toronto headquarters. This room, equipped with a giant bed, a bar, and doors with no handles that could be locked automatically by Nygard, was where he allegedly trapped and assaulted the women.
Following his sentencing in Toronto, Nygard will face additional charges in Montreal and Winnipeg. In Montreal, he is accused of assaulting and forcibly confining a woman over two decades ago, with a preliminary inquiry set for January 2025. In Winnipeg, he faces allegations of kidnapping and raping a 20-year-old woman in 1993 under the guise of a modeling opportunity.
Once Nygard’s criminal cases in Canada are resolved, he is expected to be extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. The US Department of Justice alleges that Nygard orchestrated a “decades-long pattern of criminal conduct” involving numerous victims worldwide, primarily targeting vulnerable women and underage girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In December 2020, New York prosecutors charged Nygard with sex trafficking and racketeering offenses, accusing him of maintaining close relationships with certain victims, whom he referred to as “girlfriends” or “assistants,” and using them to recruit new victims. A separate class-action lawsuit involving 57 women in the US has been temporarily suspended due to the ongoing criminal proceedings.
Since his arrest in Winnipeg in 2020, Nygard has remained in custody. His once-thriving company, Nygard International, filed for bankruptcy shortly after US authorities raided its New York headquarters, and Nygard stepped down as chairman.
