Fashion magnate Peter Nygard, currently on trial for alleged serial rapes, vigorously refuted claims of a concealed sex hideaway within his Bahamas estate during his recent court appearance. Nygard, the founder of Nygard International, has entered a not-guilty plea to charges of sexually assaulting four women and a 16-year-old girl in Toronto between 1988 and 2004.
The accusers contended that they received invitations to Nygard’s opulent Toronto offices under the guise of modeling or design prospects, only to discover themselves in an upper-floor bedroom suite with a hot tub, where they alleged he victimized them.
Nygard fervently rejected these allegations, asserting, «That’s absurd. There was no such thing as that.» His attorney, Brian Greenspan, also challenged the portrayal of Nygard as a «sexual predator» and questioned the depiction of a concealed and covert cave.
During his testimony, Nygard recounted his early life, his family’s immigration from Finland, and his journey in establishing Canada’s largest women’s clothing brand. He initiated his business empire in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1967. Nevertheless, the company sought bankruptcy protection after a police and FBI raid on its Manhattan corporate headquarters in 2020.
Nygard, aged 82, acknowledged experiencing memory lapses but remained mostly lucid when discussing his work in the garment industry and the architectural design of his properties. Jurors were presented with images of his homes and offices, reflecting his Finnish heritage and featuring stone and woodwork along with expansive windows.
Nygard’s defense counsel, Brian Greenspan, indicated that Nygard would testify to having no recollection of meeting four of the five accusers and would categorically deny the allegations made by the fifth complainant. Greenspan characterized the women’s testimonies as «inaccurate, unreliable, and untrustworthy,» underscoring the impossibility of recollecting events that did not occur.
