Prince Andrew's billionaire associate on trial over sex assault claims
A second billionaire associate of Prince Andrew has gone on trial over allegations of sexual assault of five women.
Peter Nygard leveraged his wealth, assets and status over several years to lure young women before abusing them, a Canadian court has been told. Prosecutors said the former fashion mogul carried out the alleged sexual assaults in a top-floor bedroom suite at his company’s Toronto headquarters, where he allegedly forced himself on them. In the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday, Crown attorney Ana Serban accused Nygard, 82, of using his status as a "wealthy fashion designer to lure and sexually assault young women”.
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Canadian-Finnish fashion mogul Peter Nygard leaves a courthouse in Toronto, Ontario (AFP via Getty Images)He invited all five complainants in the case - whose identities are protected - to visit his custom-built office building under pretences ranging from tours to job interviews, with all the encounters ending in the bedroom suite, the prosecution said. There, he sexually assaulted them at different times, sometimes trapping or intoxicating them, the prosecution alleged in opening arguments. The women were aged 16 to 28 at the time.
Nygard has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents dating back to the ’80s, ’90s and mid-2000s. He appeared in court sporting a suit with no tie, tinted glasses and with his long white hair tied back.
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Peter Nygard, seen here in 2014, was the toast of the fashion world (Annie I. Bang/Invision/AP)
The Duke of York has been mostly hidden from public life in recent years (PA)Nygard also is set to be extradited to the United States to face sex-related charges there, but only once his criminal cases in Canada are completed. He was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after being charged with nine sex-related counts in New York.
Prince Andrew, 63, was pictured with Nygard at the fashion designer’s palatial home in the Bahamas. According to reports, the Duke of York stopped over at the sprawling property that included 12 themed cabanas, an aquarium, helipad and casino with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2000.
The eighth in line to the throne was one of many famous names - including Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey and former President George H.W. Bush - that came to the home of the designer who has been described as the Hugh Hefner of Canada. The royal's visit came after Nygard faced three sexual harassment complaints by former employees filed with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in the 1990s, all of which he settled. There is no suggestion Andrew knew of Nygard’s alleged crimes.
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