Fashion mogul Nygard found guilty of sexual assault

By Eva Rothenberg | CNN

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 from the 1980s to the mid-2000s. He was acquitted of one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.

A sentencing hearing will be set on November 21, prosecutors told CNN.

CNN has reached out to Nygard’s attorney for comment.

Nygard is also awaiting potential 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 “façade of legitimacy” in order to conceal sex trafficking and other illegal activity. Prosecutors allege the businessman used his ties to the fashion industry to entice young women with drugs, money and the lure of a successful modeling career.

The accusers were then “forcibly sexually assaulted, drugged, and/or coerced into 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 former spokesman for Nygard, has said in the past that the allegations against Nygard are false and intended to damage 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 chairman of Winnipeg-based women’s clothing company Nygard International, which he founded in 1967. In March 2020, Nygard International filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the United States after the sex trafficking allegations.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect when Frydman made the comments to CNN.

CNN’s Sheena Jones, Madeline Holcombe, Laura Ly, Sonia Moghe and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report