Winnipeg — A Manitoba judge has stayed all sexual assault charges against disgraced Canadian fashion executive Peter Nygard, ruling that missing police records from the 1990s compromised his right to a fair trial.
In a decision delivered Wednesday, Judge Mary Kate Harvie found that investigators’ failure to retain key evidence related to a 1993 allegation amounted to a serious procedural lapse. Nygard, appearing by video from Toronto, listened as the court halted proceedings that had been set to go to trial in December.
The complainant had alleged that Nygard sexually assaulted her at his Winnipeg warehouse three decades ago. However, the judge concluded that the absence of police records — lost over time — prevented the defence from adequately testing the evidence.
“The loss of disclosure in this case was not trivial,” Harvie said, noting that the missing records would have been central to Nygard’s ability to defend himself.
The ruling marks another turning point in Nygard’s long legal saga. The 83-year-old, once hailed as a Canadian fashion tycoon, faces multiple sexual assault allegations across the country and in the United States.
Nygard was convicted in Toronto earlier this year on four counts of sexual assault involving incidents between 1986 and 2005. He is currently awaiting sentencing in that case, while other charges in Quebec remain before the courts.
Nygard, founder of the former international brand Nygard International, has denied all allegations. His lawyer argued that the Winnipeg case could not proceed fairly due to the loss of crucial evidence and the decades-long delay in prosecution.
Prosecutors have not indicated whether they will appeal Wednesday’s decision.
The stayed charges in Manitoba effectively end the only Prairie-based case against Nygard, whose once-luxurious empire has collapsed under the weight of criminal allegations, bankruptcy, and civil lawsuits.
