Nygard, 83, was found guilty by a Toronto jury last November on four counts of sexual abuse. (Case File)
Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was sentenced to 11 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual assault in which women were attacked at his Toronto office building, some of which date back decades.
The 11-year sentence is reduced to take into account the time he has already spent behind bars. Nygard must serve approximately 6.7 years and will be eligible for full parole after one-third of that.
Nygard, 83, was found guilty by a Toronto jury last November of four counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of a fifth count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.
During the six-week trial, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard testimony from five complainants who said Nygard assaulted them in a private bedroom on the top floor of the building between the late 1980s and approximately 2005.
In late 2020, Canadian police arrested Nygard at the request of the United States, accusing him of using his businesses to lure women and girls to sexually gratify himself and his friends.
About a year later, Toronto police filed their own charges against him. Nygard also faces allegations of sexual abuse and forcible confinement in Manitoba and Quebec.
He is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces nine felony charges in New York, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, transporting a minor for prostitution and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
Born in Finland and raised in the Canadian province of Manitoba, Nygard eventually ran his eponymous clothing company and became one of the richest people in the country.
“Peter Nygard is a sexual predator. He is also a Canadian success story gone terribly wrong,” Judge Robert Goldstein said Monday.
“He used his wealth and power to commit four sexual assaults.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
