A former Winnipeg fashion executive has been re-arrested and hit with more sex crime-related charges, this time linked to an incident 30 years ago.
Winnipeg police said Peter Nygard, 81, was arrested Tuesday at the Toronto South Detention centre, where he’s in custody facing charges on a number of sexual offences.
Following an investigation that began in the summer of 2020, police were able to obtain an arrest warrant Monday for Nygard on charges of sexual assault and unlawful confinement.
The allegations, police said, stem from a November 1993 incident in which Nygard, then in his early 50s, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the Nygard corporate headquarters, which was located on Notre Dame Avenue. The victim was 20 years old at the time.
Nygard, who was born in Helsinki, Finland, moved to Manitoba with his parents at 11. His Nygard International fashion business was, at one point, the largest producer of women’s clothing in Canada, but filed for bankruptcy in 2020, shortly before he was charged with offences including sex trafficking, racketeering, and sexual assault in both Canada and the U.S.
Winnipeg police said they won’t provide any more details as the case is before the courts.