Nygard says he had 'nothing to hide' from police, doesn't recall parts of interview
Peter Nygard testified Tuesday that he had "nothing to hide" during his 11-hour interview with a Toronto police detective in October 2021, but could not recall several details of that conversation when questioned about them in court.
Under cross-examination by the Crown, the former fashion mogul said he didn't remember the detective playing a video clip for him that showed one of the five complainants in the trial who have accused Nygard of sexual assault.
Nygard also said he could not recall the detective asking him about another woman who may have been present at his company's Toronto headquarters when he allegedly sexually assaulted the complainant there in the early 2000s.
“I remember bits and pieces … but I can’t put it all together," Nygard said of that part of the police interview.
He testified that he had spoken with his lawyer before the police interview, and that he felt comfortable talking to the detective.
"I went in there to co-operate with them fully. I had nothing to hide," Nygard said in court.
The 82-year-old founder of a now-defunct women's fashion company 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.
Multiple complainants in the trial have alleged they were taken to Nygard's Toronto headquarters under pretences ranging from tours to job interviews, with encounters ending in a top-floor bedroom suite where they allege they were sexually assaulted.
Nygard denied those allegations as he testified in his own defence last week. He told the jury that he has never done the things the five complainants in the trial have accused him of, nor would he engage in such behaviour.
Tuesday's cross-examination was tense at times as Crown attorney Neville Golwalla zeroed in on certain statements from Nygard's previous testimony, or expressed incredulity at Nygard's inability to directly answer some of his questions.
Nygard appeared frustrated by what he said was Golwalla asking him the same question many times and at one point said to the Crown attorney, "You seem to want to trap me into some type of statements.”
Golwalla replied that he wasn't trying to trap him. "I'm allowed to ask you questions," he said.
When Golwalla asked Nygard if he remembered the detective asking him about one of the girlfriends he had at the time of the complainant's alleged sexual assault in the early 2000s, Nygard said he “might have” but didn’t quite recall.
Asked whether the detective had told him about the complainant's allegation that she had been forced into group sex by Nygard around 2004 or 2005, Nygard replied, “as I’m sitting here right now, I don’t remember."
The Crown attorney referred Nygard to the transcript of his interview with the detective several times to refresh his memory.
“You had two years and 10 days to think about it," Golwalla said, referring to the complainant's allegations, as they were presented to Nygard by the detective during the interview.
“I haven’t had much of a chance to think about the details of this, no," Nygard said. "Because I never knew what, of all those statements that (the detective) put forward, I was actually going to be charged with.”
Nygard was also asked about his previous testimony that a "suspicious" fire destroyed paper records at his Winnipeg building roughly 10 days before his interview with Toronto police in 2021.
Nygard told the jury that the building was under receivership at the time of the fire and that no one from his company had control of the facility.
The Crown attorney said there’s no reference to the Winnipeg fire in the transcript of Nygard's interview with the police officer.
“I was answering his questions," Nygard said of the detective's inquiries. “I was very frank and honest with him.”
The trial continues Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.
Canada's premiers forced to confront escalating climate change-related disasters
Many of Canada's provincial and territorial leaders remained consumed by climate change-related natural disasters that have only escalated since they met for meetings in Halifax last week.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Unclaimed bodies are piling up in Newfoundland. A funeral director blames the government
A funeral director in St. John's says the bodies piling up in freezers at Newfoundland and Labrador's largest hospital likely belong to people whose loved ones couldn't get enough government help to pay for a funeral.
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Monday breaks the record for the hottest day ever on Earth
Driven by oceans that won't cool down, an unseasonably warm Antarctica and worsening climate change, Earth's record hot streak dialed up this week, making Monday the hottest day humans have measured.