Berliner Tageszeitung - Canadian fashion mogul Nygard sentenced to 11 years for sexual assaults

He faces release in about six and a half years with credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, or sooner if he is granted parole.

Nygard, 83, is "a Canadian success story gone very wrong," Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein said in handing down the sentence.

He called him "a sexual predator," adding that "Mr Nygard used his wealth, power and profile to prey on his victims."

Wearing a dark hoodie and a visor to shield his eyes from lights in court, Nygard did not appear to react to the decision.

He was convicted in November 2023 of using his status as the head of one of Canada's largest womenswear makers to sexually assault three women and a 16-year-old girl between 1988 and 2005.

His trial heard he had invited them to his opulent Canadian offices on the pretense of lucrative modeling or other opportunities, only to find themselves trapped in a top floor bedroom suite with a hot tub where he preyed on them.

The case marked a spectacular fall for a man who once hawked blouses and slacks at major department stores and his own outlets, and threw lavish parties at his homes in the Bahamas -- a Mayan-inspired playground with fake volcanoes -- and Los Angeles.

Prosecutors had sought to have Nygard incarcerated for at least 15 years while the defense, citing his advanced age and failing health, urged releasing him within two years.

The judge noted in his sentencing decision a high level of "violence, degradation and (the) duration of these sexual assaults, (as well as) the manipulations used to get the victims into (his) private apartment" at Nygard International's then Canadian headquarters in Toronto.

Nygard also did not moderate his behavior over the years, the judge noted.

- A fashion empire crumbles -

Once a towering and sinewy figure, Nygard dined with Queen Elizabeth II and rubbed shoulders with political leaders and Hollywood stars.

He had long boasted about his rise from humble beginnings, as a young Finnish immigrant who built a fashion empire with almost 170 stores at its peak, and amassed a personal fortune worth Can$850 million (US$620 million).

But it all came crashing down in 2020, when police raided his Manhattan corporate headquarters, and his company filed for bankruptcy protection shortly afterward.

His arrest in Canada the same year came after a whistleblower released footage that included a 17-year-old dancing on a stripper pole on Nygard's private Boeing 727 plane.

One of his Canadian accusers called Nygard "a monster."

In the United States, prosecutors allege Nygard used company funds to host "pamper parties" where minor girls were drugged and women assaulted if they did not comply with his sexual demands.

They have sought his extradition to the United States.

Nygard also still faces trials on separate charges in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Quebec.

A. Lefebvre--BTZ