Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault

TORONTO -- TORONTO (AP) — Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was sentenced Monday in a Toronto courtroom to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women.The judge called the 83-year-old a “sexual predator.”Justice Robert Goldstein said Nygard showed no empathy for his victims, who were all attacked in his company's offices.

The judge said one of several aggravating factors in the case was the fact that one of the victims was just 16 years old at the time.Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault in November but acquitted of a fifth count as well as one count of forcible confinement.

He faces separate sexual assault and sex trafficking charges in Montreal, Winnipeg and the U.S.Nygard has denied all allegations against him.Nygard, who once led a women’s fashion empire, arrived at the courthouse in a wheelchair, and did not address the court when given the opportunity.His time behind bars will come to a little less than seven years after accounting for time served.

He will be eligible to apply for parole in two years.The charges against Nygard stemmed from allegations dating back to the 1980s until the mid-2000s.During his trial, five women — whose identities are protected by a publication ban — testified they were invited to Nygard’s Toronto business headquarters under pretexts ranging from tours to job interviews.All the encounters ended in a top-floor bedroom suite where four of the women were sexually assaulted.Multiple women told the jury similar stories of meeting Nygard on a plane, at an airport tarmac or at a nightclub and then receiving invitations to come to his headquarters.

All five women said their meetings or interactions with Nygard ended with sexual activity that they did not consent to.Nygard’s lawyer had argued for a six-year sentence, citing her client’s age and poor health, while the Crown sought a sentence of 15 years.The judge dismissed the argument for a shorter sentence, saying that Nygard ha...