Peter Nygard sentencing in Toronto sex assaults postponed until September

Disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard's Toronto sexual assault case has been delayed once again, after prosecutors requested his sentencing be adjourned until September because of scheduling issues.

Court heard during what was supposed to be Nygard's sentencing hearing Friday morning that Crown attorney Neville Golwalla wasn't able to attend, and had requested the adjournment to find a date that worked for all counsel in the matter, prosecutor Ana Serban said during a short court appearance where the parties appeared over Zoom.

Nygard is now scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9.

"And I have to say, it will happen at that point," said Toronto Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein, who has previously raised concerns about how long the case was dragging out. "It will be in person and Mr. Nygard will be there in person."

In response, Nygard interjected from his bed at the Toronto South Detention Centre, where the 83-year-old is being held in custody.

"Your honour, this is Peter Nygard. Can I say something?" he asked the judge, who in turn asked Nygard's lawyer, Winnipeg-based Gerri Wiebe, if she wanted to first speak with her client in a breakout room.

"Yes, please," she said, briefly disappearing from the call before returning with Nygard and saying they had nothing further to raise.

Friday's appearance was set after court heard last week that prosecutor Golwalla wouldn't be able to attend the sentencing, but Serban would.

Wiebe said Golwalla contacted her shortly after with concerns about his inability to be there. She told court Friday the defence had no issue with pushing back sentencing.

Justice Goldstein was scheduled to deliver Nygard's sentence after arguments in his sentencing hearing wrapped up last week, in a case where lawyers' recommendations ranged from keeping him in a provincial jail for less than two more years to sending him to prison for more than a decade.

Nygard, who once led a multimillion-dollar clothing empire, was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 12 of four counts of sexual assault and acquitted of a fifth count, as well as a charge of forcible confinement.

Range of sentencing recommendations

Prosecutors want him sentenced to 15 years for incidents where they say Nygard lured victims to the headquarters of his now-defunct clothing company in Toronto before attacking them. The incidents dated from the 1980s until the mid-2000s and involved three women who were in their 20s at the time and another who was 16.

Nygard's lawyer says he should get less than two more years in jail going forward, due in part to the time he's already served, his age and health concerns he's struggled to get adequate care for in custody. Those include glaucoma, Type 2 diabetes, chronic pain and incontinence.

Over Zoom on Friday, Nygard appeared wearing glasses with a paper shield hanging overtop of them, which court previously heard he wears because of an eye condition that makes him sensitive to light.

Nygard's sentencing has been delayed several times, in part because his two previous defence lawyers separately withdrew from the case earlier this year. Last month, he lost a bid to have the hearing pushed back again.

Nearly 20 people, including a pastor, former girlfriends, employees and even Nygard's dentist wrote letters vouching for his character and asking for leniency ahead of his sentencing.

Crown attorney Golwalla previously told court that the characterizations in those letters — of a generous, charitable man who his supporters said they never saw behave inappropriately with women or girls — stand in contrast to the "Jekyll and Hyde" behaviour described by the women Nygard is convicted of sexually assaulting.

Golwalla argued the letters had "very limited value," because they described Nygard's public behaviour, not his private assaults.

"It's not unusual for a sex-offender to otherwise lead a productive life," Golwalla told court last week. "No one's suggesting he raped everyone, and that's kind of what the import of those letters leave you with."

Defence lawyer Wiebe said the community support in the letters should be considered a mitigating factor. They weren't provided to dispute Nygard's convictions, she said, but rather to give the judge a complete picture of the person he's sentencing.

Nygard has been in custody since he was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after he was charged with nine counts in New York, including sex-trafficking and racketeering charges.

He also still faces sexual assault charges in Manitoba and Quebec.

Nygard is set to be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges there after his Canadian charges are resolved. Manitoba's highest court dismissed his application for a judicial review of his extradition order, finding there was no reason to interfere with the order issued by the federal justice minister.

None of the criminal charges against Nygard in Quebec, Manitoba or the U.S. have been tested in court, and he has denied all allegations against him.