Fashion mogul Peter Nygard indicted on sex-trafficking charges

Peter Nygard, the Canadian fashion executive, has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and other crimes that involved dozens of women and teenage girls as victims in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Tuesday. Mr. Nygard, 79, used his company's influence, its money and its employees to recruit adult and "minor-aged female victims" over a 25-year period for the sexual gratification of him and his associates, according to a nine-count federal indictment. [...]

A court affidavit by the Canadian authorities filed in Winnipeg said that Mr. Nygard's victims included girls aged 14 to 17, and that his criminal conduct had affected hundreds. [...]

For decades, Mr. Nygard portrayed himself as a playboy, describing the young women and teenage girls he surrounded himself with as “the source of youth,” according to a video he produced about his attempts to fight aging. He dated celebrities like Anna Nicole Smith and fathered at least 10 children with eight women. Born in Finland, he grew up in Canada, launching his multinational fashion company, Nygard International, in Winnipeg more than 50 years ago.

source: Article 'Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Indicted on Sex-Trafficking Charges' by Benjamin Weiser, Kim Barker, Catherine Porter & Grace Ashford; www.nytimes.com/2020/12/15/world/canada/peter-nygard-sex-trafficking-charges.html; The New York Times; 15 December 2020 (Updated: 16 December 2020)