The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FORMER fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been convicted of sexually assaulting and forcibly confining an 18-year-old aspiring model after luring her to his Montreal penthouse with promises of advancing her career and offering her a life of luxury in The Bahamas.

The Quebec verdict deepens the legal downfall of the 84-year-old founder of the now-collapsed Nygard International clothing empire, who is already serving an 11-year sentence for sexually assaulting four women in Toronto and faces extradition to the United States on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges.

Nygard appeared by video from an Ontario prison on Monday and declined to contest the prosecution’s evidence just as a ten-day judge-alone trial was set to begin. Court of Quebec Judge Nathalie Fafard found him guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.

The abrupt decision spared the complainant from having to testify nearly three decades after the offences, which occurred sometime between November 1997 and November 1998.

Quebec Crown prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme said he had prepared for a full trial and had not expected Nygard to change course.

“Mr Nygard’s change of heart was quite sudden,” Mr Laflamme told reporters after the hearing.

“The plaintiff is present in the courthouse. She’s been prepared to testify ... and I can’t wait to go meet her and explain her the situation.”

The court heard that Nygard met the woman at a bar when she was 18 and hoping to become a fashion model.

They later met for lunch at her workplace to discuss her career. Nygard then invited her to his Montreal penthouse, claiming he had forgotten the keys there.

Once inside, the Crown said, he locked her in a bedroom and sexually assaulted her.

Court documents said Nygard offered the woman the chance to move to The Bahamas and promised her a lavish lifestyle on the condition that she have sex with him and other women.

Judge Fafard allowed evidence of Nygard’s Toronto convictions to be admitted after finding significant similarities between the cases, saying “it would defy coincidence or any other innocent explanation for both events having happened.”

The Quebec conviction is separate from the Toronto case in which a jury found Nygard guilty in 2023 of four counts of sexual assault involving attacks that stretched from the late 1980s to about 2005.

A judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison in September 2024. The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected his challenge to the convictions and sentence in May.

Nygard’s lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, said her client invited Judge Fafard to convict him before his anticipated extradition to the United States, where he has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and related offences.

The Canadian government ordered his surrender to the United States on all nine counts in the American indictment. The Supreme Court of Canada later refused to hear his challenge, leaving the surrender order in place.

However, the extradition cannot proceed until his remaining Canadian criminal matters are resolved.

Ms Wiebe argued that Nygard is in frail health and that transferring him to the United States could endanger his life. She said postponing sentencing would keep him in Canada while his outstanding legal proceedings continue.

Judge Fafard delayed sentencing pending a medical assessment. Lawyers are scheduled to return to court on October 2 with a joint sentencing recommendation.

The US case carries particular significance for The Bahamas, where Nygard maintained the sprawling Nygard Cay estate and hosted lavish parties before his fashion empire collapsed amid investigations and allegations of sexual misconduct.

US prosecutors allege that for about 25 years, Nygard exploited the power, employees and financial resources of his fashion businesses to recruit and sexually exploit women and underage girls.

The indictment alleges that the sprawling criminal enterprise involved at least dozens of victims in the United States, The Bahamas, Canada and elsewhere.

Prosecutors claim Nygard and others working with him targeted women and girls from disadvantaged financial backgrounds, including people who had histories of abuse.

They allege that victims were recruited with promises of modelling opportunities and other assistance before being subjected to sexual assault and trafficking for the gratification of Nygard, his friends and business associates.

Those allegations have not been tested at trial, and Nygard has pleaded not guilty to the US charges.