Peter Nygard asks court to review decision to deny him bail pending appeal

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrives at a courthouse in Toronto on October 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard is asking an Ontario court to review a decision to deny him bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions and sentence.

Nygard’s legal team is set to appear before the Court of Appeal for Ontario today to argue that the motions judge made several errors in dismissing the 83-year-old’s bail application last month.

His lawyers argue in written submissions that, among other things, the motions judge “unfairly discounted” the value of a new medical report.

The judge who rejected Nygard's bail application wrote at the time that his appeal appeared to be "weak" and that he presents a flight risk since he faces charges in other jurisdictions.

Appeal Court Justice Lene Madsen also wrote that the new medical report Nygard submitted relied heavily on self-reported information and that his health needs were considered at the sentencing stage.

Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault last year after multiple women came forward with allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but the trial judge said Nygard would have a little less than seven years left to serve once the time he already spent in custody was factored in.

His lawyers have raised several grounds for appeal, including that his sentence is “excessive” and that the trial judge made several errors, including admitting expert evidence on the effects of trauma.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.