TORONTO (AP) — Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a Toronto courtroom on Monday for sexually assaulting four women. The judge called Nygard, 83, a “sexual predator.”
Judge Robert Goldstein said Nygard showed no empathy for the victims who were attacked in his company's offices, and said one of several aggravating factors in the case was the fact that one of the victims was just 16 years old at the time.
Nygard is He was convicted of four counts of sexual assault in November. He was acquitted of a fifth charge and one charge of forcible confinement. He faces sexual assault and human trafficking charges in Montreal, Winnipeg and the United States.
Nygard denies all charges against him.
Nygard, who once led a women's fashion empire, arrived in court in a wheelchair and did not speak in court despite having the opportunity to do so. With time served taken into account, he will serve just under seven years in prison. He can apply for parole in two years.
The charges against Nygard are based on allegations dating back to the 1980s and the mid-2000s.
During the trial, five women, whose identities are protected by publication bans, testified that they were invited to Nygard's Toronto headquarters on various pretenses, including tours and job interviews. All of the encounters ended in a top-floor bedroom suite, where four of the women were sexually assaulted.
Several women told the jury similar stories of meeting Nygard on airplanes, on airport tarmacs and at nightclubs and then being invited to come to his headquarters. All five women said their meetings or interactions with Nygard ended with non-consensual sexual activity.
Nygard's lawyers argued for a six-year sentence, citing his client's age and poor health, but prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence.
The judge rejected Nygard's request to reduce his sentence, saying he had received special treatment in custody due to various health problems and that his advanced age was not a sufficient reason to reduce his sentence.
The judge rejected Nygard's request to reduce his sentence, saying he had received special treatment in custody due to various health problems and that his advanced age was not a sufficient reason to reduce his sentence.
Goldstein also suggested Nygard had exaggerated his own health problems in court filings.
Nygard's lawyers have previously argued in court that a long prison term would be “unbearable” for his client, who has health problems including type 2 diabetes and failing eyesight.
Goldstein called Nygard “an example of a Canadian success story gone spectacularly wrong.”
Nygard founded a fashion company in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1967 that eventually became Nygard International. His company manufactured women's clothing under several brand names and was based in Canada and the U.S. His photos once hung in his stores throughout Winnipeg.
Nygard resigned as chairman of the company after the FBI and police raided its New York City offices in February 2020. The company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and entered receivership.
He was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Fugitive Offenders Act after being charged with nine offences in New York, including sex trafficking and extortion charges.
In May, Manitoba's Supreme Court dismissed Nygard's application for judicial review of the extradition order, finding there was no reason to interfere with the order issued by then-Justice Minister David Lametti.
