Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard found guilty of sexual assault
Peter Nygard was found guilty of sexual assault by a Canadian jury on Monday.
Fashion mogul Peter Nygard, 82, faced a mixed outcome as he was found not guilty on one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement, but guilty on charges related to assaulting five women from the late 1980s to 2005. Prosecutors asserted that Nygard leveraged his «status» to commit the offenses.
In a courtroom drama that unfolded over the jurors' fifth day of deliberations, Nygard maintained his innocence, vehemently denying the charges.
His defense team countered the allegations by accusing the victims of engaging in «gold-digging» for financial gain.
The incidents, according to prosecutors, involved Nygard luring women, aged 16 to 28 at the time, to a private luxury bedroom in his company's Toronto headquarters. The verdict was delivered with Nygard displaying little to no emotion.
As this high-profile case continues to unfold, the fashion industry and the public await the sentencing phase, where the legal consequences for the guilty verdicts will be determined.
After his conviction, Nygard's son Kai Zen Bickle said that the jury's ruling was «a victory» for all those «who were denied justice».
«One more child won't be affected, one more woman won't be affected,» Bickle said.
"(Nygard) has to actually sit down and think about all of these things."
Meanwhile, his lawyer Brian Greenspan said they will consider their options.
The court will set the sentencing hearing on November 21.
Despite a mixed verdict in the recent trial, Peter Nygard, the once high-flying fashion tycoon with an estimated worth of at least $700 million (£570 million), is far from escaping legal troubles. The 82-year-old, who faced guilty verdicts
