Canadian Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By Sons In Suit

The sons of Canadian fashion tycoon Peter Nygard have accused their father of disturbing sexual misconduct in a new lawsuit.

The sons, who are not named in the suit, accused Nygard, 79, of arranging for them to be raped as teenagers by his then-girlfriend, who is also not named and who is described in the suit as a “known sex worker.”

Filed Sunday in the Southern District for New York, the suit names three of Nygard’s companies and is seeking a jury trial to pursue damages. Lawyers for the mogul have dismissed the allegations in the suit, calling them “lies.”

“We need to talk about this,” the older son said in an interview with CBC News. “It's about backing up the other people who are being called liars.”

The suit alleges that the two sons were raped by the same woman 14 years apart. The older son, referred to as “John Doe No. 2,” was said to be 15 at the time of his assault. The most recent assault was said to have taken place in summer 2018, when the younger son, “John Doe No. 1,” was 14. Nygard reportedly instructed the woman to “make a man” of his son, in John Doe No. 2’s case.

“It's one of those things that when you look back at it I see the pattern of it — that it happened with my younger brother — that's when it struck me,” the older son said. “That's pretty low. So after the fact and after more information has come out it's affected me a little bit more.”

Nygard was born in Helsinki, Finland, and currently Based on Winnipeg, Manitoba. He built considerable wealth after founding the Nygard International women’s apparel company in 1967. Nygard's net worth has recently been estimated at around $900 million and he has frequently been ranked among the richest people in Canada.

Earlier in 2020, 57 women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Nygard in a series of lawsuits filed in New York. Among these women, 10 accused Nygard of raping them at Nygard Cay, the mogul’s island residence in the Bahamas. They also accused him of operating a sex trafficking ring, which involved underage girls.

In February, the New York headquarters of Nygard International was raided by the FBI in relation to the sex trafficking allegations against Nygard. As a result of this, he made the decision to step down as head of the company.