Nygard sues long list of defendants over abuse of process after judge stays Manitoba sex-crime charges

Convicted sex offender and former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has filed a lawsuit over a failed prosecution in Manitoba’s provincial court last fall, claiming he’s suffered as a result of officials abusing the process of the justice system.

Nygard had been set to stand trial on allegations he sexually assaulted and forcibly confined a woman, who was then 20, at his former corporate headquarters in Winnipeg in 1993, but the charges against him were stayed in October.

The judge on the case ruled his right to a fair trial had been breached because of lost evidence.

The 84-year-old Nygard filed a statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench late last week, alleging the criminal charges were filed only amid “immense pressure” from advocates and extensive media reporting on his case, and accusing officials of abuse of process and negligence.

“As a result of this negligent conduct, the plaintiff has incurred general damages in the form of pain and suffering and mental anguish,” Nygard’s lawsuit claims.

Nygard’s court filing names as defendants the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Police Service and its chief, the provincial governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, former Progressive Conservative provincial attorney general Kelvin Goertzen, the Saskatchewan Crown attorney who reviewed the case, the complainant in the Manitoba criminal case and a victim’s advocate.

Lawsuit alleges Goertzen, government abused process

Earlier last fall, Nygard’s lawyer had tried to have the Manitoba criminal case tossed, arguing Goertzen’s order for an out-of-province review after Manitoba prosecutors declined to lay sex charges was an abuse of process. The judge agreed, but allowed the case to continue.

The lawsuit expands on those claims, alleging Goertzen and the Manitoba government abused the process of the justice system by asking the Saskatchewan government for a review, while that province’s government and prosecutor abused the process by participating in it.

The court filing accuses the complainant, April Telek, and Shannon Moroney — a therapist and social worker who has spoken extensively to the media about Nygard — of participating in the abuse of process by making faulty claims to officials.

The court filing also accuses Telek and Moroney of making defamatory claims with the goal of having charges wrongly laid against Nygard.

Telek was one of eight alleged sexual assault victims whose cases were investigated by Winnipeg police and assessed by senior Manitoba Crown prosecutors, who, in 2021, declined to authorize charges.

The Free Press and other media outlets reported on that decision and concerns raised by advocates, including Moroney, over what happened.

Then in November 2022, Manitoba Liberals took the calls for a new investigation to the legislative assembly and organized a news conference with women who had accused Nygard of assault.

Two days later, Goertzen ordered a second opinion on the matter — a decision he described as “unprecedented” — and sent the case files to Saskatchewan prosecutors for review.

That review resulted in Saskatchewan prosecutor Robbie Parker authorizing charges involving Telek’s allegations in 2023.

“This re-review was initiated following immense pressure from Moroney and media reports regarding how Manitoba officials had originally handled complaints from eight women decades prior,” reads Nygard’s court filing.

Nygard accuses police chief of negligence

The Manitoba criminal case fell apart last fall after Winnipeg police told the Crown that records of a wellness check conducted by officers on Telek in 1993 could not be found.

Winnipeg police spoke with her on the day of the alleged assault after family members in Vancouver reported they could not reach her, and she was interviewed by RCMP following her return home to Vancouver days later.

But Winnipeg police could not find records of that check and an RCMP officer who met with the woman in 1993 had no verbatim quotes or details to provide when he spoke to court.

In June 2020, Telek provided a video statement to the WPS, the only remaining evidence of the alleged assault brought to court.

Nygard’s criminal defence lawyer said in the fall Winnipeg police believed written evidence of the wellness check had been purged, but the new lawsuit claims WPS has since found the relevant notebooks and statements once thought lost.

The court papers claim Telek’s 1993 statements to Winnipeg police don’t implicate Nygard in any wrongdoing. He alleges Telek’s decades-old statements contradict her more recent statements.

The lawsuit accuses Winnipeg police and the chief of negligence for not being able to initially locate the statements.

Nygard asserts that if Saskatchewan Crown prosecutor Parker had been able to review those 1993 statements, he would not have authorized charges against Nygard.

None of the defendants in Nygard’s new lawsuit have responded to the claim in court. The defendants who could be reached by the Free Press on Tuesday did not comment.

Nygard is currently serving an 11-year sentence in an Ontario prison after he was convicted in September 2024 of sexually assaulting four women at his Toronto corporate headquarters from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s.

He is set to stand trial in Montreal on charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement for alleged offences there in 1997 and 1998.

United States federal prosecutors in New York charged Nygard in 2020 with nine offences, including sex trafficking and racketeering. The charges are still before the courts.

He is facing extradition to the U.S., once the Canadian proceedings are complete.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca