Nygard arrested for 1993 sex assault: Winnipeg police By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 2:10 PM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2023 Last Modified: 5:58 PM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 11/07/2023 (790 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Accused sex offender Peter Nygard was arrested in a Toronto jail Tuesday on charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement alleged to have occurred in Winnipeg nearly 30 years ago.

The 81-year-old former fashion executive has only faced charges for alleged offences in Manitoba’s capital city once before, despite the Winnipeg Police investigating eight historical complaints against him between February to December 2020.

Police said Nygard was arrested at the Toronto South Detention Centre, where he remains in custody on multiple counts of sexual assault and forcible confinement alleged to have occurred in Ontario.

In relation to the new charges, he is accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman in November 1993 at his former corporate headquarters in Winnipeg.

City police said the investigation started in June 2020 and an arrest warrant was issued Monday following a review of the case by Crown prosecutors in Saskatchewan.

Police said no further comment would be provided because the case is before the courts.

“I am just glad that one of my sisters will see her day in court,” said KC Allan, a former Winnipegger who accused Nygard of violently raping her in 1979, when she was 17.

Allan said she was informed by police on Tuesday that charges would not be pursued in relation to her complaint.

“I know that she will hold the flag for all of us and do a really good job, and I’m very proud of her,” Allan said in a phone interview.

”I know that she will hold the flag for all of us and do a really good job, and I’m very proud of her.”–KC Allan

Allan’s was one of multiple cases investigated by police and forwarded to prosecutors for review in 2021, following an 11-month investigation.

However, the alleged victims learned in October 2021 the Manitoba Crown attorney’s office would not pursue charges against Nygard in any of the complaints.

The decision prompted Allan and others to advocate for an independent inquiry and a new investigation after charges were brought against Nygard in other Canadian jurisdictions.

He faces one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in Quebec and faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges in the United States.

Nygard was once charged with raping an 18-year-old Winnipeg woman in 1980, and the case was later stayed.

Nygard denies the allegations and is fighting extradition to the U.S. at the close of his Canadian court cases.

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont brought the survivors’ calls for a new investigation to the legislative assembly in November 2022 and organized a press conference with at least three other women who have accused Nygard of assault.

Days later, Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen ordered a second opinion on the matter and sent the case files to the Saskatchewan Public Prosecutions Service in December for review.

At the time, Goertzen said a review was important for public confidence in the justice system and because he had concerns about charges being pursued elsewhere.

His department considered conducting an internal review of the Crown’s decision or holding a news conference to explain why charges were not pursued in Manitoba, the minister said. However, he determined an external review and opinion was the best path forward.

On Tuesday, Goertzen said the province received the report from Saskatchewan justice officials in May.

“It was determined that a prosecution of Peter Nygard is viable in respect of the allegations made by one complainant,” Goertzen said in a statement to the Free Press. “No further comment will be provided as this is now a matter before the Manitoba Justice system.”

Relying on Saskatchewan prosecutors to move forward with charges in just one case is a condemnation of Manitoba Justice, said Lamont.

“This is a failure of Manitoba Justice up until now,” Lamont said. “We still have a huge problem, not just that charges aren’t being pursued but that there are many, many women who feel that there is no point in coming forward at all.

”This is a failure of Manitoba Justice up until now.”–Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont

“Unfortunately, it’s not very reassuring that he’s only going to be charged with one case in Manitoba, and it might be a while before it ever gets tried, but it really only begins to scrape the surface of what is wrong with why Peter Nygard has never really faced the full force of justice in Manitoba,” he said.

Lamont said the new charges would not have been possible if not for survivors speaking up.

Shannon Moroney, a Toronto therapist and social worker who is currently counselling around 15 people affected by Nygard, said the news was “astounding,” but took far too long.

“It shouldn’t have taken this. But I think on a bigger issue, what this really does speak to, is a big overhaul broadly in Manitoba and Manitoba Justice,” she said.

Serena Hickes worked as a sales clerk in one of Nygard’s retail stores when she was in her early 20s.

She alleges Nygard raped her in a fitting room. The 52-year-old first went public with her story in late 2020, after reporting the attack to Winnipeg police.

Like Allan, Hickes said police informed her the complaint would not move forward. Police told her the case would be tried by an out-of-province prosecutor, Hickes said.

“Most of us knew going into this, we were never going to get justice here,” Hickes said.

“This is where he perfected his predatory ways.”

Allan said she is disappointed other cases will not be prosecuted and believes Winnipeg police feel similarly.

The differing opinion coming out of Saskatchewan in at least one case raises questions, she said.

“The facts never changed, they’re the same facts,” she said.

The Saskatchewan Public Prosecution Service declined to comment.

— with files from Malak Abas

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca