TORONTO — Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has requested bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and the 11-year prison sentence he received last month.
The Ontario Court of Appeal said a motion to grant bail pending the appeal was heard Wednesday but the judge’s decision has yet to be released.
Nygard, 83, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault last year after multiple women came forward with allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s. In issuing his sentence, the judge who presided over the case said Nygard’s time behind bars would work out to a little less than seven years after accounting for time already spent in custody.
The notice of appeal Nygard’s lawyers filed in court last month argues that the sentence is "excessive" and that the trial judge made several errors, including admitting the testimony of clinical psychologist Lori Haskell on the effects of trauma.
Nygard's lawyers are also arguing that Justice Robert Goldstein erred in allowing the jury to consider the evidence of one complainant to help decide whether the Crown had proven its case with respect to other complainants – among other grounds that form their appeal.
They say they will be providing "fresh evidence of a detailed medical examination" to demonstrate the deterioration of Nygard's health and his "severe frailty," which they argue warrants a sentence reduction. The court filing asks that the Appeal Court either enter a stay of Nygard's case or set aside the convictions and order a new trial.
During Nygard's sentencing in September, the presiding judge dismissed the defence lawyer's argument for less time behind bars, noting that Nygard has been receiving special treatment in custody due to his various health issues and that his advanced age is not reason enough to limit the sentence. The judge also suggested Nygard had been exaggerating his health issues in his submissions to the court.
Nygard, who rose to fame after founding a women's fashion company in Winnipeg that ultimately became Nygard International, is also facing charges in Quebec, Manitoba and the United States.
He was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after he was charged with nine counts in New York, including sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
In May, Manitoba's highest court dismissed Nygard's application for a judicial review of his extradition order, finding there was no reason to interfere with the order issued by then-justice minister David Lametti.
None of the criminal charges against Nygard in Quebec, Manitoba or the U.S. have been tested in court, and he has denied all allegations against him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.
Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press