Fashion mogul Peter Nygard, accused of alleged mass rapes, took Canadian jurors on a virtual tour of his properties and offices on Wednesday. He denied claims that there was a secret ‘sex stash’ in his villa in the Bahamas.
The founder of Nygard International has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing four women and a 16-year-old girl in Toronto between 1988 and 2004.
His accusers said he invited them to his opulent Toronto offices under the guise of modeling or designing, where they were then “trapped” in a top-floor bedroom suite with a hot tub. There he abused them.
The court also heard testimony about Nygard’s Bahamas estate, known as Nygard Cay, where he hosted lavish parties.
Nygard strongly denied Wednesday that any part of the property was or should be used for clandestine sexual conduct. “This is crazy,” he said. “There was no such thing.”
His attorney, Brian Greenspan, earlier this week disputed prosecutors’ portrayal of Nygard as a “sexual predator… (and) what was misrepresented as his secret and hidden lair.”
On the stand, Nygard recounted his childhood, his family’s immigration from Finland and building Canada’s largest women’s clothing manufacturer.
He founded his business empire in 1967 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. However, the company filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after the police and FBI raid on the company’s Manhattan headquarters in 2020.
Nygard, 82, had difficulty remembering dates and names at times and told jurors he was increasingly suffering from “memory lapses.” “It’s almost embarrassing that I suddenly can’t think of anything,” he said, adding with a smile: “I recommend not getting old.”
Most of the time, he seemed lucid and even cheerful as he talked about his work in the clothing industry and his properties – all designed by him and, he said, inspired by his Finnish heritage. As he reminisced, the lawyers were shown pictures of his houses and offices, which are characterized by stone and wood work and large windows.
Greenspan said Nygard would testify that he did not remember meeting four of his five accusers and that he would “categorically” deny the fifth accuser’s allegations.
“It is impossible to remember something that did not happen,” Greenspan said in court Tuesday, calling the women’s statements “inaccurate, unreliable and unbelievable.” (AFP)
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.com