NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been accused of using his wealth and political influence in The Bahamas to lure, rape and sodomize more than 10 women, most of whom were underage guests at his infamous Nygard Cay “pamper parties”.
A Federal class action lawsuit filed in a Manhattan Court yesterday, details allegations of a decades-long sex-trafficking scheme that Nygard and his companies knowingly facilitated and benefitted from – and Bahamian officials were paid to ignore.
The class action complaint, obtained by Eyewitness News, claims Nygard bribed Bahamian police officers and further seeks to correlate the fashion designer’s financial contributions and engagement with the Progressive Liberal Party as evidence of his political influence.
It alleged Nygard provided PLP party members and corrupt police officers with “children and young women to engage in commercial sex acts with”.
“Nygard did so to gain influence with these politicians and law enforcement officials, as well as to gain compromising information about them in order to exert his influence over them,” the 99-page complaint stated.
The complaint details the accounts of 10 women, six of whom were minors at the time, and who were allegedly lured to Nygard Cay in hopes of landing modeling contracts or fashion careers.
The youngest defendant listed in the complaint was 14 years old at the time of the alleged rape.
The women detailed visiting Nygard’s home and experiencing drugged effects after eating or drinking at the party. It was alleged that they were taken to Nygard’s bedroom where he forcibly performed vaginal or anal sex.
In some cases, the women said Nygard requested for them to penetrate him anally or engage in depraved fetishes like defacating or urinating in his mouth.
Following the ordeal, the complaint states the women were all offered various sums of money ranging from $550 to $5,000.
It further alleges Nygard’s employees often participated in recruiting the women and knowingly engaging in criminal acts in a bid to keep their jobs or prevent themselves from becoming victims.
One defendant is a former employee, who was 29-years-old when she was allegedly drugged and raped in 2014.
Another adult employee claims she was raped by Nygard at his residence in Marina Del Ray, California in 2015.
The complaint read: “Defendants, using interstate and foreign commerce, recruited, lured, and enticed young, impressionable, and often impoverished children and women, with cash payments and false promises of lucrative modeling opportunities to assault, rape, and sodomize them.
“Nygard used his considerable influence in the fashion industry, his power through corruption of officials, and a network of company employees under his direction, to groom and entice underage girls and women.
It continued: “Defendants knew that Nygard would use means of alcohol, drugs, force, fraud, and/or other forms of coercion to engage in commercial sex acts with these children and women, and, in many cases, with knowledge that they were less than eighteen years old.”
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial on all claims, and are represented by DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, and Haba Law Firm.
It accuses Nygard and his companies, Nygard Inc., Nygard International Partnership, and Nygard Holdings Limited of violation of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA); participating in a venture in violation of the TVPA; and conspiracy to commit violation of the TVPA.
They are seeking to have the statute of limitations tolled for all victims, citing Nygard’s threats and use of force has prevented victims from coming forward.
The complaint further stated: “Nygard’s victims have been previously unable to come forward to report his illegal activity and pursue their claims against him for several reasons including, without limitation, cultural stigmatization, shame, weak laws that are rarely enforced, low clearance rates for sexual-assault investigations, corrupt law enforcement and government officials, fear of Nygard’s wealth, power, and influence in the Bahamas, and psychological manipulation and intimidation tactics used by Nygard, including the commonly held belief that Nygard has bribed government officials and the police.”
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