New York, United States
Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been arrested, accused of sex trafficking of women, including minors, as announced by US authorities on Tuesday.
Nygard was arrested Monday in the Canadian town of Winnipeg at the request of federal prosecutors New York, under the extradition treaty maintained by the two countries.
The 79-year-old businessman is charged with nine charges including sexual trafficking and criminal association, for “criminal conduct” that has lasted for “decades,” according to U.S. authorities.
The indictment made public Tuesday states that Nygard used the influence and money of his fashion business to “recruit and retain adult and minor victims” for his “sexual gratification” and that of his friends and partners.
According to prosecutors, Nygard and his accomplices used force, coercion, and fraud to cause the victims to have sex with him and others for a period of 25 years.
They point out that the plot seeks women and minors in difficult financial situations or who have a history of abuse and are controlled with threats, false promises about opportunities in the fashion world, financial support and other coercive measures, including surveillance. constant and restriction of its movement.
Sexually assaulted
In addition, prosecutors accuse Nygard of sexually assaulted by force to some of its victims and say some were drugged to meet their “sexual demands.”
In the writ, authorities point out that the tycoon maintains an “almost professional” relationship with some of the victims, whom they refer to as his “girlfriends” or “assistants” and who are forced to have sex with him and others. already recruit new women and minors.
Last February, FBI and Police agents New York he already registered his company’s New York headquarters as part of this investigation, a spokesman for the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office confirmed to Efe.
The case opened after several women accused Nygard of sexually abusing them in the Bahamas, where he owns a mansion. According to The New York Times, the allegations were raised on the initiative of Louis Bacon, an American billionaire who owns another mansion next to his property in the Bahamas.
Nygard, owner of a women’s fashion brand, is a well-known billionaire in Canada, with a fortune estimated in 2014 at about $ 750 million, according to Canadian Business magazine. EFE