5 things to know about Peter Nygard

Evil By Design: Exposing Peter Nygård premieres on Starz on August 12, 2022. The miniseries claims to explore Peter Nygard's pbehaviorbehaviour and how years of sexual abuse were covered up and kept secret. The docuseries also includes testimonies from key victims and an examination of the events that led up to a crime of such magnitude.

While most people are familiar with the allegations and charges against Peter Nygard, there are few sources that accurately represent victims and everything done to build the women's apparel brand that Nygard owned. Here are a few things about Peter Nygard to better understand the case.

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Some facts about Peter Nygard

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1) He founded Nygard International

Peter Nygard (Image via BBC)

Peter Nygard founded a women's apparel company called Nygard International.It was created in 1967, and Nygard oversaw business operations in several cities, including New York, Winnipeg, and Toronto.

Nygard International was the largest producer of women's apparel in Canada before it was raided and ordered to be liquidated by a Canadian judge. Nygård Fashions, Nygard Slims, Bianca Nygard, ADX, TanJay, Alia, and Allison Daley were all part of Peter Nygard's fashion empire.

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2) Early Allegations

The very first official allegation that Nygard faced was as early as 1968, a year after Nygard International was founded. Following the victim's refusal to testify, Winnipeg police were forced to dismiss the charges. In 1980, the Free Press wrote of an allegation of the rape of an 18-year old, which was also dropped due to lack of testimony.

Lawsuits later proved that the victims were paid off using funds from the company to not testify against Peter Nygard. Nygard reportedly resolved three employee claims of sexual harassment in the 1990s.

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3) Other lawsuits

In addition to sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations, Nygard was involved in lawsuits that included tax evasion, murder conspiracy and unfair labor practices. Nygard fought a twelve-year legal battle following their takeover of the sportswear designer business. Linda Lampenius, a classical violinist, was accused of making disparaging remarks about Nygard and his naked parties.

Authorities reported tax evasion on the part of Nygard as late as 2006. Around $15 million were understated to avoid paying taxes. Despite a gigantic number of accusations being made against him, Nygard was quick to settle them with money or other means to avoid massive damage.

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4) Sex Trafficking

It was as late as 2019 that the Bahamian police finally began investigating allegations of sexual assault made by six different victims, all of whom were under 16.

Image Credits: Forbes

In February 2020, ten women accused Nygard of rape and suggested that he might be into sex trafficking. All the women claimed to be under 18 when they were attacked. It was finally in December 2020, that Peter Nygard was arrested for his involvement in child trafficking and was subsequently denied bail.

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5) He was sued by his sons

In August 2020, two of Nygard's sons accused him of hiring a sex worker, ostensibly his girlfriend, to rape them. A criminal investigation was initiated.

Nygard's family and employees were also featured in a Disney+ documentary on the crimes he had committed. Titled Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygard, the documentary was a careful analysis of the man's psychology and what enabled his behaviour.

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Evil By Design: Exposing Peter Nygård is expected to be a deep study of sexual predators and their patterns of behavior. Although inherently dark by nature, the docuseries has the scope to improve our understanding of such crimes and social well-being so as to break down power structures.

The docuseries releases on Starz on August 12, 2022.