Children’s Rights Group Wants Ottawa to Extradite Peter Nygard

Anne Bucher | May 6, 2020

Category: Legal News

Winnipeg children’s rights group Beyond Borders has asked the province and federal government to investigate the possibility of extraditing Peter Nygard to Canada in order to pursue prosecution against him on behalf of the Canadian women who lodged sexual assault allegations against him.

Seventeen of the 46 women who are part of a class action lawsuit against Nygard in New York are Canadian. Their lawsuit includes allegations that Nygard operated a “sex trafficking ring” and that he raped them at his mansion in the Bahamas.

More than 100 witnesses have come forward with information about sexual assault and human trafficking allegations against Nygard. No criminal charges have reportedly been filed against Nygard over the sexual assault allegations.

Beyond Borders asked the court to consider extradition after Nygard filed documents in court alleging his former neighbour in the Bahamas recruited and paid women to make false statements. He accuses his neighbour of engaging in a decade-long conspiracy against him.

Nygard, a Canadian businessman, grew up in Manitoba. The headquarters for his fashion company are located in Winnipeg.

David Matas, legal counsel for Beyond Borders, sent letters last week to the attorney general of Canada and Manitoba’s justice minister and attorney general asking them to investigate the possibility of extraditing Nygard.

“What we said in the letter is that we shouldn’t just be leaving this issue to the Americans of Bahamians, that there’s a strong Canadian connection and Canada should show initiative and leadership and concern in this area,” Matas told CBC.

Matas says the sexual assault class action lawsuit in New York has a strong connection to Canada. Not only are some of the alleged victims Canadian, but some of the alleged abuses reportedly took place in Canada.

According to Matas, Canadian citizens can be prosecuted for sexual offences that were allegedly committed outside of Canada once the accused returns to the country. He believes Canada would have jurisdiction to handle the allegations within its justice system.

Ian McLeod, a spokesperson for the federal Department of Justice, told CBC via email that the minister of justice can only seek extradition if the request comes from an authority who would assume responsibility for prosecuting the case in Canada.

“Requests from Canada to its partners are confidential and therefore we cannot comment on whether a particular request has been made unless a specific case is made public through the courts,” McLeod wrote.

Nygard’s personal lawyer has opposed extradition because there are no criminal charges against his client.

“Beyond Borders is way off base,” lawyer Jay Prober said. “You don’t ask about extradition unless there’s something to extradite for. There are no charges against Peter Nygard anywhere in the world. There are no criminal charges, so there’s nothing to extradite him for.”

The sexual assault class action lawsuit was filed against Nygard earlier this year in New York federal court. At the time of the filing, Nygard was accused accused of sexually assaulting at least 10 women, most of whom were younger than 18 at the time of the alleged sexual assault.

The victims allege Nygard used his connections within the fashion industry to lure “young, impressionable and often impoverished children and women” with promises of a modeling career or money.

According to the sex trafficking class action lawsuit, many of the alleged abuses occurred at Nygard Cay, a compound Nygard built in the Bahamas in the 1980s. Some of the alleged victims claim they were held at Nygard Cay and were unable to leave without Nygard’s permission. Some women claim that their passports would be confiscated until they had sex with him.

The alleged victims say they were forced to perform sexual acts “through a combination of fraud, coercion, psychological force and manipulation, and physical force.”

More women have subsequently come forward with information about Nygard’s alleged sexual assaults against young women. The New York class action lawsuit currently includes allegations from a total of 46 women.

Do you think Peter Nygard should be extradited to Canada to be prosecuted on behalf of the Canadian women who lodged sexual assault allegations against him? Tell us your opinion in the comment section below!

The plaintiffs in the New York class action lawsuit are represented by Greg G. Gutzler, Adam J. Levitt, Amy E. Keller, Mark A. DiCello, Robert F. DiCello, and Justin J. Hawal of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC and Lisa D. Haba of The Haba Law Firm P.A.

The Peter Nygard Sex Trafficking Class Action Lawsuit is Jane Does Nos. 1-10 v. Peter J. Nygard, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01288, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.