Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault in a Toronto court on Sunday following a six-week trial. Nygard, 82, was accused by five women of attacking them in a series of incidents between the 1980s and the mid-2000s. He was acquitted of one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.
A sentencing hearing will be set for Nov. 21, prosecutors told CNN. Nygard is also awaiting possible extradition to the United States, where he faces a federal indictment filed in 2020 in the Southern District of New York that accuses him of using his fashion business as a “front of legitimacy” to hide sex trafficking and other illegal activity.
Prosecutors allege that Nygard used his ties to the fashion industry to lure young women with drugs, money, and the lure of a successful modeling career. The accusers were then “forcibly sexually assaulted, drugged, and/or forced to have sexual contact with Nygard,” according to the US indictment. Many alleged victims were underage girls who came from disadvantaged backgrounds or had a history of abuse.
Ken Frydman, a spokesman for Nygard, said the allegations against Nygard are false and intended to harm the designer and his businesses. Nygard consented to be extradited to the United States in 2021 but in 2023 he appealed against extradition, according to court documents reviewed by CBC.
Nygard served as president of the Winnipeg-based women’s clothing company Nygard International, which he founded in 1967. In March 2020, Nygard International filed for bankruptcy in Canada and the United States after allegations of sex trafficking. CNN’s Sheena Jones, Madeline Holcombe, Laura Ly, Sonia Moghe, and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.