In a surprising turn, a Canadian fashion mogul found guilty of sexual assault in Montreal on Monday after accepting a plea deal that halted what was meant to be a 10-day trial. The 84-year-old founder of the now-defunct Nygard International women’s apparel company accepted the agreement and presented no defense, appearing via video from an Ontario prison where he is already serving an 11-year sentence for similar crimes in Toronto.
The Montreal court found him guilty of sexual assault and forcible confinement stemming from an incident that occurred between November 1997 and November 1998. According to court documents, the victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, met the fashion designer at a bar when she was 18 and aspired to be a model. He invited her to his Montreal penthouse under the pretense of discussing her career, claiming he had forgotten his keys. Once inside, he locked her in the bedroom and sexually assaulted her. Court evidence showed he told the victim she could move to the Bahamas and promised her a life of luxury under the condition that she would have sex with him and other women.
Quebec Crown prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme expressed surprise at the sudden plea, having prepared extensively for a full trial. “Mr. Nygard’s change of heart was quite sudden,” he told reporters after the hearing, noting that the victim was present in the courthouse and had been prepared to testify.
This Quebec conviction marks the second time in under two years that the fashion mogul has been convicted of sexual assault. In November 2023, a Toronto jury found him guilty of four counts of sexual assault involving multiple women whose assaults allegedly occurred between the late 1980s and 2005 at his downtown Toronto office building. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2024. An Ontario appellate court dismissed his appeal of that conviction earlier this year.
Judge Nathalie Fafard accepted evidence of the previous Toronto conviction, stating it would “defy coincidence or any other innocent explanation for both events having happened.” The judge agreed to postpone sentencing in the Montreal case pending a medical assessment, a strategic move according to his lawyer. Gerri Wiebe explained that her client invited the guilty verdict specifically to delay extradition to the United States, where he faces federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
The decision to delay sentencing is significant given Canada’s extradition rules. According to Wiebe, the United States cannot legally extradite him until his Canadian legal matters are fully settled. By accepting the plea and postponing the sentence, the strategy allows him to remain in Canada for additional months while his legal team seeks a review of his detention based on his age and declining health. Wiebe told reporters outside the courthouse that Nygard “does not want to go to the United States” and that moving him there would be detrimental given his current condition, arguing he is feeble and might not survive the extradition process.
The scope of Nygard’s legal troubles extends far beyond Canada. U.S. federal authorities have charged him with crimes involving at least dozens of victims across the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada. Prosecutors allege that over a 25-year period, he leveraged his fashion company’s influence, employees, and financial resources to recruit women and girls and coerce them into sexual activity for his gratification and that of friends and business associates.
The Quebec court appearance marks a departure from his previous legal strategy, in which he had consistently denied all allegations. In his Toronto trial, he testified that he could not recall four of the five accusers and insisted the allegations could not have occurred, though he contradicted testimony about his penthouse bedroom’s layout and whether doors could lock from the outside.
Lawyers are scheduled to return to Montreal court on October 2 to present a joint recommendation for sentencing. The resolution of the Quebec matter appears to be the final domestic legal hurdle before he faces the U.S. extradition process, potentially moving his case into the federal system where far more extensive charges await. Civil litigation in the United States involves additional survivors alleging systematic sexual abuse and trafficking spanning decades.