Federal authorities allege that a Canadian fashion designer used his company to prey on girls and young women that they say he sexually assaulted and used to serve his friends and business associates.
Peter Nygard, the 79-year-old head of the Nygard Group, was arrested in Winnipeg on Monday, officials said, and hit with a nine-count grand jury indictment that included charges of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, trafficking of minors, forced sex trafficking and transportation of a minor for prostitution.
The criminal acts are alleged to have happened between 1995 and as recently as this year, federal prosecutors in New York City said. A New York-based publicist for Nygard declined comment to NBC News on Tuesday.
Nygard “frequently targeted women and minor-aged girls who came from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and/or who had a history of abuse,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Over this 25-year period, he “used the Nygard Group’s influence, as well as its employees, funds, and other resources, to recruit and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims for Nygard’s sexual gratification and the sexual gratification of his friends and business associates,” prosecutors added.
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
