WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — A judge on Friday denied bail to Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard, who was arrested in December on U.S. charges that alleging he sexually abused women and girls he lured with promises of opportunities in fashion and modeling over the last 25 years.
That means Nygard, 79, will await his extradition hearings in jail. Nygard was arrested in December in Winnipeg and faces nine counts in the Southern District of New York.
Justice Shawn Greenberg said she has concerns about a history of Nygard not showing up to court and using employees to tamper with evidence.
Defense lawyer Jay Prober argued in court last week that his client’s health is at risk behind bars.
The defense had proposed an in-home security guard and 24-hour video surveillance to monitor Nygard if he was released.
Federal lawyers told the court that Nygard has the means to flee and that the charges he faces in the U.S. are too serious to allow for his release.
Nygard’s arrest on sex trafficking, racketeering and related charges came after the FBI raided his Manhattan offices last year.
The raid came soon after 10 women sued Nygard, saying he enticed young and impoverished women to his Bahamas estate with cash and promises of modeling and fashion opportunities. Several plaintiffs in the suit, filed in New York City, said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.
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