(TJVNEWS.COM) Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been arrested in Winnipeg under the extradition act after federal prosecutors in New York slapped the 79-year-old with a nine-count indictment in the Southern District of New York. He has been accused of sex-trafficking, racketeering, and sexually assaulting dozens of teenage girls and women, The Guardian reported.
According to NBC New York, “several plaintiffs in the suit said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.”
Fifty-seven women — including 18 Canadians — have joined the lawsuit, which alleges that Nygard used violence, intimidation, bribery, and company employees to lure victims and avoid accountability for decades.
Nygard has denied all allegations and blames a conspiracy caused by a feud with his billionaire neighbor in the Bahamas. Nygård has been a longtime sponsor of amateur sports in the Bahamas
Nygard International began in Winnipeg as a sportswear manufacturer. Its website says its retail division has more than 170 stores in North America. –NBC New York
In February his Manhattan headquarters were raided by the FBI and NYPD, after 10 women accused Nygard of enticing young and impoverished women to his estate in the Bahamas after promising them modeling gigs and cash NY Times reported.
NYT in Febuary: Nine women in Canada and California, mostly employees, have sued him or reported him to authorities alleging sexual harassment or assault since 1980. In addition, another nine former employees told The Times in interviews that he raped them, touched them inappropriately or proposed sex. –NYT
