On the last day of his cross-examination, Peter Nygard maintained that he never approached women because they naturally came to him.
The 82-year-old Canadian is accused of sexually assaulting five women, including a minor, in his former Toronto fashion workshop from 1986 to 2005.
It was a weakened and confused but still haughty Peter Nygard who ended his testimony after three days during which he did not hesitate to rebuke the Crown when he could. .
In this trial, the Crown cannot contradict the accused by contrasting the statements of the complainants with his own since he claims not to know only one of them.
So she must use facts and details to her advantage to prove that Peter Nygard lied to the jury.
Open full screen
Peter Nygard repeatedly asked the Crown to repeat his questions because he did not seem to understand them or because he had heard them wrong.
Prosecutor Neville Golwalla returned to the complainants' allegations that it was impossible to leave Peter Nygard's private suite at his former studio on Niagara Street in downtown Toronto.
The women explained at the start of the trial that they had felt trapped there during the attack of which they say they were victims.
Me Golwalla, for example, criticized the accused for no longer remembering whether the access doors to his apartments opened from the inside only using a code, a magnetic key or to a button located on the bedside table.
Open in full screen mode
Peter Nygard's former headquarters in Toronto, with the private apartments on the fifth floor.
I designed the design of my suite, But after 40 years, I don't remember all the details, Peter Nygard replied.
Earlier in the trial, Peter Nygard explained that #x27;it was easy to get out of his suite. However, the prosecutor broadcast on screen an excerpt of his interrogation at a Toronto police station on the evening of October 28, 2021.
We hear Peter Nygard telling a detective that it would be difficult to get out of the suite if we didn't know the password to the door to the room.
The accused responded that he was talking at the time about the door that led to his private office and added that he had some memory lapses during the police interrogation.
Open in full screen mode
The bed from Peter Nygard's Finnish Suite in his Niagara Street studio, Toronto.
Some complainants told the court that they had been taken to Peter Nygard's workshop for false reasons, such as job interviews or guided tours of the building before guard.
Yet Peter Nygard now claims that he never offered visits to the complainants because he had a whole team of assistants to do it.
The architectural design of the building served to boost sales and the Finnish suite was itself a showcase for the company, he said.
He further stated that he rarely slept in his private quarters because he was only in Toronto two and a half months out of the year and that the suite in question was also used by members of his family or his staff.
Open full screen
Crown prosecutor Neville Golwalla questioned Peter Nygard on the first day of his cross-examination, on October 31, 2023.
One of the complainants said that the bed in the suite was so big that 10 people could sleep there.< /p>
Peter Nygard admitted that his bed was a very large California-style bed. However, he told the police that it was a large double bed.
He further says that he never kept strong alcohol in his suite, contrary to what his accusers maintain, but only wine.
Prosecutor Golwalla reminded him that he kept tequila there. They were bottles that celebrities or prime ministers had given me, but they were not trophies, he continued.
Open in full screen mode
As prosecutor Golwalla looked on, Peter Nygard was passionate as he answered questions from his lawyer, Brian Greenspan, last week.
The designer then defended himself for having created dresses for ladies in his career, only pants and jackets.
The fifth plaintiff told the trial that she saw two red leather miniskirts hanging over the granite bath in the suite and that Peter Nygard asked her to put one on.
I have never designed clothes in leather, suede or fur, because I am against animal cruelty, he said declared.
The Crown nevertheless showed her on screen models of cotton and faux leather skirts from its collections from the 1980s and 1990s.< /p>Open in mode full screen
Peter Nygard faces six sexual charges for alleged acts dating back more than 35 years in some cases and more than 20 years in others others.
Peter Nygard finally claimed that he never gave his phone number to women he met while traveling.
Acccosting a woman could be compared to assault, it's inappropriate and I would never behave in such a way, he said explained.
The Crown nevertheless showed the court a video made during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, a video in which the designer requests the number of #x27;a young Bahamian woman in the cafeteria of the athletes' village.
Open in full screen mode
It will be up to Mr. Brian Greenspan to present his final arguments first since the defense has called witnesses to the trial bar. (In general, the Crown is the first to do so, Editor's note.)
We hear him say to the young woman: Now that I have found you, I do not intend to lose sight of you.
He said that he was a member of the Olympic committee of the Bahamas, his country of residence, that a public relations employee was showing him around the Olympic village and that he was looking for sports sponsors for his company.
Peter Nygard admitted he doesn't remember the athlete's name.
I don't have to ask the telephone numbers of the women I meet since they are the women who come to me, he concluded, exasperated by all the contradictions suggested to him by the prosecutor.
The defense and the Crown will present their final arguments to the 14 jurors next Tuesday.
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116
