Winnipeg Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Against Peter Nygard Due to Missing Evidence
All charges against fashion mogul Peter Nygard in a winnipeg sexual assault case have been stayed, a judge ruled Wednesday. Provincial court Judge Mary Kate Harvie persistent Nygard’s right to a fair trial had been compromised by the failure of police to preserve records related to the allegations,which date back to the 1990s.
Nygard, appearing via video link, faced accusations of sexually assaulting a complainant - whose identity is protected by a publication ban - at his winnipeg warehouse in november 1993. The complainant initially reported the alleged assault to police, including the North Vancouver RCMP. winnipeg police launched a formal investigation into the matter in 2020.
The stay of proceedings was sought by Nygard’s lawyer, Gerri Wiebe, who argued in September that the lack of documentation from the original 1993 police interviews prevented a fair defense. Wiebe emphasized that the complainant’s testimony, and that of the Vancouver RCMP officer involved, couldn’t adequately replace the missing records. ”The complainant here can say anything she wants…and I have virtually nothing to challenge that with,” she stated during September’s arguments.
The trial had been scheduled to begin in December.
This advancement comes as Nygard is already serving an 11-year prison sentence following a conviction in Ontario on four counts of sexual assault related to offenses spanning the 1980s to the mid-2000s. He is currently appealing that conviction and sentence. He also faces separate charges in Montreal concerning alleged sexual assault and forcible confinement incidents between November 1st and November 15th, 1998.
