Alleged sex-trafficking victims of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard are suing him, his companies and high-level employees, claiming they enabled his crimes for decades and helped him evade justice.
Nygard, Nygard International and several other entities and individuals, including his daughter, were named in a suit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court by 13 Jane Doe victims. They claim the companies and several employees helped recruit potential victims, some of whom were minors, by offering modeling contracts, party invitations or other enticements.
The suit follows Nygard’s Nov. 12 conviction on four counts of sexual assault by a jury in Toronto. US prosecutors have also charged him with sex-trafficking and racketeering, and Nygard, 82, has agreed to be extradited to face those allegations.
The now-bankrupt Nygard fashion company was once the largest Canadian-owned maker and seller of women’s clothing. According to the suit, Nygard’s companies knew or should have known he was sexually assaulting women and that his businesses benefited from it.
The receiver for the Nygard group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Recruiters were taught by Nygard and by employees of the Nygard companies to inform targeted young female victims that Nygard possessed extraordinary wealth, power, resources, and influence,” the victims allege, “that he was a fashion designer who could help fulfill female victims’ dreams. This often was an offer to become a model, but was modified based on the specific victims’ hopes and dreams.”
Nygard employees were allegedly tasked with maintaining contact with potential victims, ensuring they attended “pamper parties” at his properties in Marina del Ray, California, and at his home in the Bahamas, often arranging transportation for them. According to the suit, those employees also maintained a corporate database including photographs to allow Nygard to peruse, rate and contact potential victims.
“The database contains ratings or grades, information, and pictures of over 7,500 underage girls and women dating back to 1987,” the plaintiffs allege. Employees of Nygard’s companies were expected to keep cash at his various properties so he could pay victims for sex, the complaint further states.
They are suing for undisclosed monetary damages for sex-trafficking as well as assault and battery. Some 27 corporate entities are named as defendants, many of which correspond with properties held by Nygard. Four business associates and Nygard’s daughter, described as a “key officer” of many of his companies, are also defendants.
The plaintiffs are also suing the W Hotel in Times Square, where Nygard allegedly brought raped or assaulted many of them. Marriott International Inc., which operates the hotel, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Nygard fashion company filed for bankruptcy in March 2020, a few months before its founder was arrested on the US charges. Many Nygard properties have been sold out of receivership, but Thursday’s suit alleges many of the defendants helped conceal assets from creditors.
The case is Jane Doe v. Nygard, 23—cv-10306, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Author: Ava Benny-Morrison
