Woman faces questions about Nygard's genitals during sex assault trial

WARNING: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse

The fifth of five women to claim she was sexually assaulted by Peter Nygard wrapped up her testimony in a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday, which included answering questions about the genitals of the one-time Canadian fashion mogul.

At the time of the alleged attacks — which covered a period from the late 1980s to 2005 — the five women ranged in age from 16 to their late 20s.

Nygard, 82, has pleaded not guilty in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement. Justice Robert Goldstein is presiding over the jury trial.

No further testimony was expected to be heard from the complainants. 

The Crown contends that Nygard used his power and status to lure the women to his downtown Toronto office building. Once there, they would end up in his private bedroom suite, usually following a tour of the building, court heard. And it's inside that suite, the Crown alleges — and each of the women has testified — that Nygard attacked and sexually assaulted them.

The fifth woman to testify spent the day cross-examined by Nygard's lawyer, Brian Greenspan, who tried to pick apart elements of her story, raised questions about her motives, and, at one point, accused her of lying about the size of Nygard's penis.

On Monday, the woman told court she had met Nygard when she was 21 during a function at a club in Hull, Que., in 1989. She said they spoke briefly and she discussed her interest in fashion, mentioning that she had created her own fashion line.

She said they eventually met in Toronto and he brought her to his headquarters. They ended up in his private bedroom suite, where, she alleged, Nygard sexually assaulted her.

Greenspan asked the woman about a detail that hadn't been revealed in court during her testimony for the Crown — that she had told police that Nygard's penis wasn't the usual size but the size of "a little child's penis."

"I suggest to you that's pure fantasy and a total lie," Greenspan said.

"That is incorrect," the woman responded. She repeated the claim under further questioning by Greenspan.

Greenspan also referred to the woman's previous testimony that she had initially decided not to pursue charges against Nygard, in part, after a conversation with her mother about the futility of going after someone so powerful, with high-profile lawyers at his disposal.

Greenspan noted that the woman was now being represented in the U.S. by Gloria Allred — herself a high-profile attorney known for representing women in sexual assault and harassment cases. Allred helped the complainant arrange her statement to Los Angeles police about Nygard's alleged attack on her.

The woman also said she never retained a lawyer, that Allred had been referred by a rape crisis centre and was representing her pro bono. The woman, unlike the other complainants, was also not part of a U.S.-based civil lawsuit against Nygard, court heard.

Greenspan asked whether she intended to initiate civil proceedings against Nygard should a conviction be secured against him. She said it wasn't on her mind.

Greenspan also questioned the woman about the night she met Nygard. The woman had suggested it was inappropriate that Nygard was there with teenage supermodel Monika Schnarre and that he had been holding her hand throughout the evening.

Under cross-examination, the woman acknowledged that she didn't know Schnarre was engaged in contract negotiations with Nygard to be a lead model for his fashions. She said she was also unaware that for the entire evening, Schnarre was accompanied by a chaperon. 

"You created an after-the-fact characterization of an innocent time when Mr. Nyagard was walking with Ms. Schnarre — the best known model in Canada, who everyone knows is [a teenager] — walking though a public club, and you've taken a negative view of that because you want to characterize Mr. Nygard in a negative way," Greenspan said.

"I disagree, because I'm entitled to my opinion of how I felt when I saw him holding her hand," she said.

'Meant nothing to me'

The woman had also told court on Monday that before she and Nygard went to his Toronto headquarters, they met at a nearby bar. But once there, instead of talking about the fashion industry, Nygard was only interested in discussing her sexual activities, court heard.

Greenspan suggested the woman was flattered that Nygard, a rich and famous older man, thought she was attractive.

"I was not flattered at all. It meant nothing to me," she said.

She had also testified Monday that when she entered Nygard's private bedroom suite, there was no handle on the door to exit the room.

The woman did acknowledge to Greenspan that the door to the washroom inside the private suite had a handle and that she had used the washroom at some point.

"I suggest to you that that restroom not only has a door in, but the other side of that restroom is a door out to the public space, also with a door handle," Greenspan said. "Do you recall that?"

"I certainly do not, and I would not have been looking for an escape route out of a toilet, sir," the woman responded.

Greenspan asked the woman a series of specific questions. He asked if she and Nygard engaged in kissing before or while she was in his bedroom suite.

"I recall no kissing," she said.

Asked about any touching, she said the only touching was Nygard touching her and her trying to push him off.

"Did you and Mr. Nygard engage in mutual oral sex," Greenspan asked.

"Absolutely not," she said.

She also denied that he said if she woke up in the middle of the night and wanted sex, she should wake him up and that he would do the same.

The trial continues on Wednesday.