Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been found guilty on four counts of sexual assault after five women testified he used a private bedroom suite in his company headquarters to assault them.
The verdict by a Toronto jury came midday on Sunday after five days of deliberation. Nygard, 82, was acquitted of one of five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.
Over the six week trial, the court heard graphic and emotional testimony from five women, whose identities are protected by a publication ban, about assaults that occurred from the 1980s to the mid-2000s.
Prosecutors had said that Nygard met the women in social settings and invited them to the headquarters of his clothing empire in Toronto. All of the “tours” ended in his bedroom suite. The room had a bed, televisions and a jacuzzi. Prosecutors say the doors didn’t have handles and the locks were controlled by Nygard.
In one instance, a woman testified that she was only 16 years old when an older man she was dating brought her to Nygard’s headquarters. She said Nygard sexually assaulted her and when she was leaving the building, a woman handed her an emergency contraceptive pill.
Another broke down during her testimony, telling the court she worried any complaint against him would be dismissed. “He’s so wealthy and so powerful, who would believe me?”
Nygard told the court that he couldn’t recall meeting four of the five women, nor did he remember having any interaction with them decades ago. He also denied allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault, telling a court the behaviour was out of character.
“My position is that I would not have conducted myself in that kind of manner,” Nygard testified. He also told the court no one could have been locked inside his private suite.
In closing arguments last week, Crown prosector Ana Serban said Nygard’s testimony was “unreliable” and lacked credibility.
Nygard’s lawyer Brian Greenspan argued that the five women lacked credibility because of the “fatal flaws and lack of testimonial trustworthiness” of their allegations. On Sunday, Greenspan said he was weighing the possibility of appealing the verdict.
Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing companies and becoming one of Canada’s wealthiest people. He stepped down as chairman of the company after the FBI and police raided his offices in New York City in 2020. In the years since, the company has filed for bankruptcy and entered into receivership.
Canadian police arrested Nygard in late 2020 at the request of the US.
In addition to the guilty verdict on Sunday, Nygard faces criminal charges in three other jurisdictions.
He stands accused of sexual assault and forcible confinement in Quebec and Manitoba, with the allegations dating back to the 1990s. He is also facing charges in the US.
He is fighting extradition to the US where he faces a lawsuit brought by 57 women – including 18 Canadians – which alleges that Nygard used violence, intimidation, bribery and company employees to lure victims and avoid accountability for decades. Nygard has denied all allegations.
