Invitation to a party or concert turns into a nightmare: Complainants at former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygaard’s rape trial tell how they were trapped by a “monster”.
• Read more: The sex-crime trial of former fashion mogul Peter Nygaard has begun in Toronto
• Read more: Former fashion mogul Peter Nygaard has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault
• Read more: Former fashion mogul Peter Nygaard faces trial for sex offences
“It’s the saddest thing that’s ever happened to me,” said one of them on Tuesday, who was younger during the condemning events.
The 82-year-old billionaire pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment at the start of his trial in late September.
The woman, now 35, whose identity has been banned, explained that she had been invited to a party at Nygard International’s premises by a man with whom she was having an affair.
But when she arrives at the Toronto building, she discovers that only Peter Nygaard and another woman are there. She was taken to a “dark-colored” room, which contained a bed.
Shortly after offering her a drink and telling her about his private jet and his property in the Bahamas, Peter Nygaard threw himself at her, she says.
“Peter fought me and took off my skirt and panties,” she explained, and the other urged her to “let it go.” “I felt I really had no choice,” said the complainant, who was “scared” and “confused”.
Last week, the first complainant to testify said he was lured by Peter Nygaard’s promise to visit his company’s premises.
“He was pulling my legs, he started taking my clothes off,” she tearfully told the jury, according to CBC/Radio-Canada, describing “a monster.”
“He became like a different person,” the woman said, but immediately, Nygard “went back to his business as if nothing had happened.”
According to him, Peter Nygaard kept about fifty boxes of condoms in the closet of his bedroom where the attack took place.
The test in Toronto will be the first in the series in Canada and the United States. The fashion designer has actually been accused of dozens of sex crimes over the decades in both countries.
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