Once one of the most prominent names in global fashion, 84-year-old former clothing empire founder Peter Nygard has reached another devastating milestone in his ongoing legal collapse, after a Quebec court convicted him of sexual assault and forcible confinement of an 18-year-old aspiring model in the late 1990s.
The conviction marks the second guilty finding against Nygard in Canada, following a 2023 Toronto conviction on four counts of sexual assault that earned him an 11-year prison sentence. He is also currently awaiting extradition to the United States to face far-reaching federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking that allege decades of systemic abuse across multiple countries.
In an unexpected turn of events just as a 10-day judge-only trial was set to begin on Monday, Nygard appeared via video link from an Ontario prison and chose not to challenge the prosecution’s evidence. This last-minute decision spared his accuser from the stress of testifying, nearly 30 years after the alleged offences took place between November 1997 and November 1998.
Court of Quebec Judge Nathalie Fafard formally found Nygard guilty on one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement following his non-contest submission. Prosecutors outlined that Nygard first met the 18-year-old victim at a Montreal bar, where she shared her goal of building a professional modeling career. After an initial meeting at her workplace to discuss career opportunities, Nygard lured her to his downtown Montreal penthouse by claiming he had left his keys there. Once inside the unit, he locked her in a bedroom and assaulted her. Court documents also detail that Nygard offered the teen a lavish lifestyle and residency in The Bahamas, on the condition that she engage in sexual activity with him and other women.
Judge Fafard also ruled that evidence from Nygard’s previous Toronto convictions was admissible in the Quebec case, noting striking similarities between the patterns of abuse that could not be written off as coincidence. “It would defy coincidence or any other innocent explanation for both events having happened,” Fafard wrote in her ruling.
Quebec Crown Prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme told reporters after the hearing that his team had fully prepared for a lengthy trial and never anticipated Nygard’s sudden change of strategy. “Mr Nygard’s change of heart was quite sudden,” Laflamme said. “The complainant is present in the courthouse. She’s been prepared to testify … and I can’t wait to go meet her and explain the situation to her.”
This Quebec conviction is legally separate from the 2023 Toronto guilty verdict, where a jury found Nygard responsible for sexual assaults on four women that occurred between the late 1980s and mid-2000s. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2024, and the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld both his convictions and sentence earlier this May when it rejected his appeal.
Nygard’s defense attorney, Gerri Wiebe, told the court her client opted to allow a conviction ahead of his planned extradition to the U.S., where he has already entered a not guilty plea to the racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Canadian authorities have already ordered Nygard’s surrender to the U.S. on all nine counts laid out in the American indictment, and the Supreme Court of Canada recently declined to hear his challenge to the extradition order, leaving it fully in effect. Extradition proceedings cannot move forward, however, until all outstanding Canadian criminal cases against Nygard are resolved.
Wiebe also argued that Nygard is in significantly frail health, and that transferring him to the U.S. would put his life at immediate risk. She requested a sentencing delay to allow Nygard to remain in Canada while all outstanding legal matters are finalized. Judge Fafard granted that request, delaying sentencing until a full medical assessment of Nygard’s health is completed. Legal teams are scheduled to return to Quebec court on October 2 to submit a joint sentencing recommendation.
The pending U.S. case carries unique weight for The Bahamas, where Nygard once owned the expansive Nygard Cay private estate and hosted high-profile, lavish parties before his fashion company, Nygard International, collapsed amid widespread sexual misconduct investigations. American prosecutors allege that over 25 years, Nygard used the influence, staff, and financial resources of his fashion businesses to recruit and sexually exploit women and underage girls across multiple countries. The indictment claims the criminal ring operated with dozens of victims across the U.S., The Bahamas, Canada, and other regions, specifically targeting women and girls from low-income backgrounds, many of whom had pre-existing histories of abuse. Prosecutors allege that victims were lured with false promises of modeling jobs and financial support before being assaulted and trafficked for the sexual gratification of Nygard, his friends, and business partners. These allegations have not yet been tested in an American trial, and Nygard maintains his not guilty plea.