Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrested on sex-trafficking, racketeering charges

• Canadian fashion executive Peter Nygard was indicted on charges of sex-trafficking, racketeering, and related crimes, federal prosecutors based in New York City said on Tuesday.
• Prosecutors said that over a 25-year period, Nygard used his company's influence "to recruit and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims" for his own sexual gratification, and that of his friends and business associates."
• The 79-year-old disgraced designer is currently facing a class-action lawsuit after 57 women accused Nygard of using bribery and intimidation to propagate a sex-trafficking operation and avoid consequences for allegations of sexual abuse.

Canadian fashion executive Peter Nygard was indicted on charges of sex-trafficking, racketeering, and associated crimes related to "at least dozens of victims," federal prosecutors based in New York City said.

Nygard was taken into custody on Monday, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, by Canadian authorities. He is accused of a "decades-long pattern of criminal conduct" conducted in the "United States, the Bahamas, and Canada, among other locations," the nine-count indictment out of the Southern District of New York said.

Prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday that over a 25-year period, Nygard used his company's influence "to recruit and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims" for the sexual gratification of himself, his friends, and business associates.

The Nygard Group employees are named as co-conspirators surrounding accusations that Nygard repeatedly used "force, fraud, and coercion" to cause women and minors to have sex with him and others. Prosecutors said the executive often targeted women and underaged girls from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and maintained "quasi-professional" relationships with some victims.

"He controlled his victims through threats, false promises of modeling opportunities and other career advancement, financial support, and by other coercive means, including constant surveillance, restrictions of movement, and physical isolation," prosecutors said in a statement.

The New York Times reported in February that Nygard was stepping down after federal agents and New York detectives raided his fashion company's Manhattan headquarters in connection with a sex-trafficking investigation that had been going on for at least five months.

Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz previously reported that in a lawsuit filed earlier this year, an initial 10 women accused Nygard of raping them at "pamper parties" held at his luxury estate in the Bahamas. Shortly after the suit was filed, dozens more women emerged with similar allegations dating back 40 years, their lawyer Greg Gutzler told Insider.

The 79-year-old disgraced designer is currently facing a class-action lawsuit after 57 women accused Nygard of using bribery and intimidation to propagate a sex-trafficking operation and avoid consequences for allegations of sexual abuse.