Canadian fashion mogul Nygard sentenced to eleven years in prison for sexual harassment

Peter Nygard, the founder of one of Canada's largest clothing brands, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Monday for four counts of sexual abuse of women and a girl in Toronto.

He could be released in about six and a half years, with credit for time spent in custody, or sooner if he is granted parole.

Nygard, 83, is “a Canadian success story gone completely wrong,” said Judge Robert Goldstein of the Ontario Superior Court when announcing the verdict.

He called him a “sexual predator” and added: “Mr. Nygard used his wealth, power and reputation to exploit his victims.”

Wearing a dark hoodie and a makeshift visor to protect his eyes in court, Nygard appeared unresponsive to the decision.

His lawyer Gerri Wiebe said he would appeal the verdict but would continue to “profess his innocence” in several other criminal cases pending against him.

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Outside the Toronto courthouse, a spokesman for one of Nygard's victims, whose identity is protected by a court order, read a statement in which he spoke of a sense of closure after “four years of hell.”

“We did this to ensure that every victim of sexual violence remembers this process and feels the strength and confidence to come forward without feeling threatened by social status or money,” the statement said.

Victims trapped in the bedroom

Nygard was found guilty in November 2023 of using his position as head of one of Canada's largest women's clothing manufacturers to sexually abuse three women and a 16-year-old girl between 1988 and 2005.

At his trial, it was heard that he had invited them to his opulent Canadian offices under the pretense of lucrative modeling jobs or other opportunities, only to find them trapped in a top-floor bedroom suite with a hot tub, where he abused them.

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The case marked a spectacular fall for a man who once ran 170 of his eponymous stores in Canada and the United States and hosted lavish parties at his homes in the Bahamas – a Mayan-inspired playground of artificial volcanoes – and in Los Angeles.

The prosecution had asked for Nygard to be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison, but the defense pushed for his release within two years, citing his advanced age and poor health.

In his verdict, the judge referred to the high level of “violence, degradation and duration of these sexual assaults, as well as the manipulations used to lure the victims to his private residence in Toronto.”

In addition, Nygard has not moderated his behavior over the years, the judge found.

The empire is crumbling

At the height of his success, Nygard dined with Queen Elizabeth II and socialized with political leaders and Hollywood stars.

For a long time, he had boasted about his rise from humble beginnings: as a young Finnish immigrant, he had built a fashion empire and amassed a personal fortune of 850 million Canadian dollars (620 million US dollars).

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But in 2020, everything fell apart when police raided his Manhattan headquarters and his company filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter.

His arrest in Canada that same year came after a whistleblower released footage showing a 17-year-old dancing on a stripper pole in Nygard's private Boeing 727 plane.

One of his Canadian accusers called Nygard “a monster.”

In the US, prosecutors accuse Nygard of using company money to host “pampering parties” where underage girls were drugged and women were attacked if they did not comply with his sexual demands.

They have requested his extradition to the United States.

Nygard is also facing trial on other charges in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Quebec.

Source: AFP