His sentence comes nearly a year after he was found guilty in November 2023. Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard was sentenced on Monday, September 9, in Toronto to eleven years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting four women. “Peter Nygard is a sexual predator”said Superior Court Judge Robert Goldstein. “It is also an example of a Canadian success story gone horribly wrong.”He noted, adding that “He used his wealth and power to commit four sexual assaults”.
The prosecutor has asked for at least 15 years in prison for the 83-year-old Finnish-Canadian former businessman, who has been in prison since his arrest in 2020. The defence has asked for a six-year sentence, citing his advanced age and delicate state of health.
In his verdict, the judge highlighted the intensity of “the violence, degradation and duration of their sexual assaults” but also “manipulations used to lead victims to [son] private apartment ». He also noted that Peter Nygard, who was present in the courtroom and dressed in a black hooded sweater and a white visor, had not moderated his behavior over the years.
More tests to come
In November 2023, he was found guilty of taking advantage of his position as director of one of Canada’s largest women’s clothing manufacturing companies to sexually assault several women and a 16-year-old girl between 1988 and 2005.
A friend of Hollywood stars, who traveled in a private jet emblazoned with his name in capital letters and was fond of lavish parties held at his vast homes in the Bahamas and Los Angeles, he pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial. For several weeks, his victims said they had been “trapped” by Peter Nygard, finding himself in a room with a bed, a bar and a door with no handle that was locked with a code.
This trial before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was the first in a series of cases involving Peter Nygard for sexual offences against numerous women in Canada and the United States over several decades.
The case of Peter Nygard is reminiscent of that of Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier who committed suicide in 2019 while in custody after being accused of maintaining a prostitution network made up largely of minors.
