Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested on charges alleging he sexually abused women and girls, after luring them into his orbit with opportunities in fashion and modeling over the past 25 years.
Nygard, 79, was detained after a Winnipeg, Canada, court appearance on Tuesday following his Monday arrest by Canadian authorities at the request of the US.
No date was set for a bail hearing, although he was due to return to court on Jan. 13.
Photo: AFP
His lawyer in Winnipeg, Jay Prober, said his client denies all allegations and blames a conspiracy caused by a feud with his billionaire neighbor in the Bahamas.
His arrest on sex trafficking, racketeering and related charges came after the FBI raided his Manhattan offices earlier this year.
The raid came soon after 10 women sued Nygard, saying that he enticed young and impoverished women to his Bahamas estate with cash and promises of modeling and fashion opportunities.
Several plaintiffs in the suit, filed in New York City, said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.
In announcing criminal charges, authorities said Nygard used the prestige of an international clothing design, manufacturing, and supply business he founded and headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, to persuade victims, sometimes with a history of being abused, to submit to his demands.
The indictment alleged that Nygard and his co-conspirators, including Nygard Group employees, used force, fraud, and coercion to enlist the women and girls, who were sexually abused and assaulted by Nygard and others.
The indictment said Nygard offered false promises of modeling opportunities and other career advancement, along with financial support, to lure victims. It said he forcibly sexually assaulted some victims, while others were forcibly assaulted by his associates or were drugged to ensure compliance with sexual demands.
Fifty-seven women, including 18 Canadians, have joined the lawsuit, which alleges that Nygard used his company, bribery of Bahamian officials and influence in the industry to recruit victims in the Bahamas, the US and Canada.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
RSS