Final complainant in Nygard trial testifies about aftermath of alleged Toronto rape

A woman who accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault told his Toronto trial it took her decades to go to police because she feared the fashion mogul could ruin her reputation and chances at a career in the industry.

The fifth and final complainant at Nygard's trial said Tuesday that she decided to come forward years later to help other vulnerable women speak out against predators.

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“This isn't for me, I'm older now,” said the complainant, whose identity is covered by a publication ban.

“This is for a young generation of women who are coming up, and they need to know they can report this straight away to prevent these predators from developing.”

Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women's clothing company, is accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.

The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents ranging from the 1980s to mid-2000s.

Peter Nygard, clockwise starting bottom left, Justice Robert Goldstein, complainant on the stand, defence lawyer Brian Greenspan, Toronto Police Service Det.-Sgt. Erin Hanlon and a court clerk are seen in a courtroom sketch in Toronto, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould

The fifth complainant has testified that Nygard flew her to Toronto in 1989 under the guise of helping with her aspirations as a fashion designer, but what she thought would be a business meeting turned into an attack at his headquarters.

She said she called him the day after because she felt she had made an enemy of a powerful figure in the industry she was trying to break into. She couldn't remember much of the conversation, she said, but recalled Nygard being angry she had left him.

The complainant said she told her mother about what happened and said she was advised never to tell anyone about the alleged rape.

She said her mother believed the former fashion mogul was too powerful to be held accountable and thought going to police in the late 1980s would not bring justice. Her mother worried a complaint would ruin her daughter's reputation and credibility, the woman said.

“At the time this happened, the way society worked was it looked at women as, 'Don't get raped,”' the complainant said. “The support was not in favour of women ... and then we had the MeToo movement.”

In the years after, she said seeing Nygard's labels or signs in shops began taking a toll on her, to the point that she needed medical attention for symptoms from nausea to vertigo. She considered attempting suicide on occasion, she said.

More than a decade later, the complainant ran into Nygard at a star-studded party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, after she had gone on to become a successful designer, she testified.

In a confrontation she said lasted only a few minutes, she approached Nygard and told him that he had locked her in a room nearly 15 years earlier and raped her.

At first he denied it, she said, but he became more compassionate when she told him she had come close to attempting suicide. He left her a Nygard business card, repeating to her that he would make right by his wrongs, she said.

When she eventually called the number on the card, a man who identified himself as part of Nygard's security team said he didn't handle phone calls for Nygard, she testified. “It was like a bogus number,” she said.

In cross-examining the complainant, Nygard's lawyer Brian Greenspan attempted to defend his client's character and cast doubt on details in her testimony.

Greenspan called attention to the complainant's relationship with American attorney Gloria Allred, a high-profile lawyer known for taking on cases involving protection of women's rights. The complainant clarified that Allred was referred to her by the Rape Treatment Center in Los Angeles, and supported her testimony to L.A. police pro-bono, but as a “victim's advocate.”

Greenspan also probed her prior testimony of meeting Nygard at a popular nightclub in Gatineau, Que., months before the alleged attack. The complainant had said she noticed Nygard holding hands with a Canadian supermodel who was underage at the time, which she felt was “inappropriate for him to have his hands on her body.”

Greenspan said the young model was in talks to become a lead model for Nygard's company, and was present with her well-known agent and the club's proprietor, who introduced the complainant to Nygard.

“You created an after-the-fact characterization of an innocent time when Mr. Nygard was walking ... the best-known model in Canada, who everyone knows is 15 years old, walking through a public club,” he said, “Because you want to characterize Mr. Nygard in a negative way.”

He further described some details the complainant provided to police in followup interviews as “pure fantasy,” such as a clarification that she was trapped in Nygard's bedroom for five hours, rather than what she initially said was one hour.

The woman said those details became clearer in her mind some time later.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.