WARNING: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse.
Peter Nygard denied he had “boxes and boxes” of condoms stored inside the private bedroom suite of his Toronto headquarters, where five women say they were sexually assaulted by the one-time Canadian fashion mogul over a period from the late 1980s to 2005.
Testifying for the second day in his sexual assault trial, Nygard, 82, contradicted the testimony of the first complainant, who had previously told court that as Nygard pinned her down on the bed inside the suite, she begged him to “put a f–king condom on.”
The woman said Nygard went to a dresser in his bedroom and that she could see him grab one from an “enormous” collection of more than 50 boxes of condoms.
The woman testified that after Nygard retrieved a condom, he sexually assaulted her.
Nygard has pleaded not guilty in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement. Justice Robert Goldstein is presiding over the jury trial.
On Thursday, Nygard’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, questioned him about that dresser and condoms in his suite. Nygard told the court the dresser was behind a mirrored door and that if someone was on his bed looking over at that area, they could not see the dresser from that vantage point.
Not ‘boxes and boxes’ of condoms, Nygard says
“At any time, sir, did you have boxes and boxes and boxes of condoms located in your Finland suite in Toronto?” Greenspan asked.
“I did not,” Nygard said.
“In terms of any condoms which you might have had, where would they have been stored?” Greenspan asked.
Nygard said there were likely some in the drawers of the dresser, but there weren’t “boxes and boxes of them.”
Earlier in the week, Greenspan began his defence with an opening statement to the jury saying his client would testify and offer an “unequivocal and emphatic denial” that he engaged in any sexual misconduct with the five women who have claimed they were assaulted.
The Crown contends that in the five cases — which involve women ranging in age from 16 to their late 20s — Nygard used his power and status to lure them to his downtown Toronto office building, located at 1 Niagara St.
Once there, Nygard often provided a tour of the building, which would end in his private bedroom suite, which included a giant bed, televisions on walls and a Jacuzzi, court has heard.
It’s inside that suite, the Crown alleges — backed by each of the five women who have testified — that Nygard would attack and sexually assault them.
Nygard denies anyone could get locked inside suite
Some of the complainants had previously told court there was a mirrored door leading into his bedroom, that it had no handle on the inside and that Nygard punched in a security code to unlock the door from inside.
Two of the women told court that they felt trapped inside that room, that they felt there was no way out. One told court that she repeatedly begged Nygard to let her out, and that he eventually relented.
On his first day of testimony on Wednesday, Nygard denied there was any way for someone to get locked inside his private bedroom suite.
Under questioning from Greenspan, Nygard said there were three exits out of his bedroom: the main mirrored door that would go to the reception area, another exit door through the bathroom and an exit through his office.
“And under no circumstances could you ever get locked in,” Nygard said.
The trial continues.
