“Canadian Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard’s Sexual Assault Case in Quebec Moves Forward Despite Stalled Trial Date”

MONTREAL — The Quebec attorney prosecuting the sexual assault case against Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard told the court Monday the complainant wanted the case to move faster.

Nygard’s case in Quebec has been delayed for months. The 81-year-old founder of a defunct international womenswear company faces a sexual assault case and a forced detention case allegedly taking place between November 1, 1997 and November 15, 1998 in Quebec.

He also faces sex-related charges in Toronto, where he is currently being held, and in the United States, where authorities say he used his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.

Prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme had told reporters that a trial date would probably be set on Monday. But Nygard’s attorney was unwilling to go ahead, and Quebec Court Judge André Perreault again adjourned the case to April 14.

“The prosecution expects a final statement on this case by the next date so that we can move things forward a bit,” Laflamme told Perreault. “It’s been a while since the first indictment and the plaintiff, she wants things to move.”

Nygard was first arrested under the extradition law in Winnipeg in 2020 after being indicted in New York on nine sexual counts. He is also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the US involving 57 women who accuse Nygard of abusing his position in the fashion industry and sexually assaulting her.

The fallen fashion entrepreneur was charged in Toronto in 2021 with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forced confinement that occurred between the late 1980s and mid-2000s. He will appear in court in Toronto in September 2023.

Two additional sexual assault charges were filed by Toronto police in June 2022.

Charges in Quebec were filed in March 2022, and Nygard waived his right to a bail hearing in that province last July.

Nygard has denied all allegations against him and is appealing a US extradition order. That appeal is scheduled to be heard in Winnipeg on April 26.

In March 2022, Federal Attorney General David Lametti said Nygard could be extradited to the US once his Canadian cases were settled.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 6, 2023.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

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