Peter Nygard: Fashion mogul begins trial facing sexual assault charges

Peter Nygard, seen here leaving an Ontario courthouse, is facing extradition to the US

Canadian prosecutors began laying out arguments against former fashion mogul Peter Nygard as his sexual assault trial opened in an Ontario court.

In opening remarks, they alleged Mr Nygard, 82, used his "power and status" to assault five women in incidents dating from the late 1980s to 2005.

He lured the women - aged 16 to 28 at the time - into a private bedroom in his firm's Toronto headquarters, prosecutors said.

Mr Nygard has denied all the charges.

He pleaded not guilty last week to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.

In the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday, Crown attorney Ana Serban accused Mr Nygard of using his status as a "wealthy fashion designer to lure and sexually assault young women".

The young women were offered jobs or tours to lure them to his Toronto offices, she said.

There, "behind all the trappings of success and power, there's a bedroom suite with a giant bed... and a bar and doors, doors with no handles and automatic locks controlled by Peter Nygard," Ms Serban said, according to AFP.

She alleged Mr Nygard would attack the women once they were trapped in that room.

All five women in the lawsuit are expected to testify during the Ontario trial, which is expected to last at least six weeks.

He was brought into court in a wheelchair on Tuesday, his once flowing blonde mane turned gray and pulled back in a bun, and ghostly pale, AFP reported.

Mr Nygard also faces sex-related charges in Manitoba, Quebec and the US.

He is due to face another trial in the province of Quebec next year and is set to be extradited to the US once his criminal cases in Canada are completed.

According to US authorities, the multimillionaire engaged in "a decades-long pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims" in the US, Canada and other countries.

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Mr Nygard was once estimated to be worth at least $700m (£575m), after founding a sportswear company in the 1960s in the Canadian city of Winnipeg.

The Finnish-Canadian businessman later developed his firm, Nygard International, into a global apparel empire.

Mr Nygard often hosted celebrities and politicians at his properties to promote his brands, which included Bianca Nygard, Tan Jay, ALIA and SLIMS.

He stepped down as chairman in February 2020 shortly before it filed for bankruptcy following a raid by US authorities of its New York City corporate headquarters.

He has been in prison since his arrest in December of that year.