Peter Nygard Indicted in Sex-Trafficking Probe

Federal prosecutors accused him of years of criminal conduct involving dozens of victims in the U.S., Canada and the Bahamas. He faces nine criminal charges.

Mr. Nygard, 79 years old, has previously denied the allegations and on Tuesday declined through a spokesman to comment on his arrest. His lawyer also declined to comment through the spokesman.

Mr. Nygard appeared in a court in Winnipeg on Tuesday afternoon, where his lawyer asked for a publication ban to prevent certain information from being made public in the proceeding. Justice Sheldon Lanchbery denied the request, and set a January date for an administrative hearing, according to a court spokeswoman.

Mr. Nygard’s lawyer is expected to make a bail application, but no formal request has yet been filed, she said.

Mr. Nygard founded the privately held Nygard International in Canada in 1967. He stepped down as chairman of the apparel company in February after federal and local authorities raided the firm’s Manhattan office as part of an international sex-trafficking probe.

Representatives for the company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Nygard International filed for bankruptcy in March. In April a Canadian judge allowed an accounting firm to sell and liquidate part of the company.

Before filing for bankruptcy, the company had about 1,450 employees and operated 170 of its own stores in North America and over 6,000 shops inside department stores. Nygard International also operated a number of clothing lines, including SLIMS, TanJay and a label named for Mr. Nygard.

Prosecutors accused Mr. Nygard of using his company’s influence, as well as its employees and funds, to recruit and maintain a stream of adult and minor-aged female victims for his sexual gratification, and that of his friends and business associates.

Mr. Nygard is accused of frequently targeting women and girls who came from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and had a history of abuse, prosecutors said. He allegedly controlled his victims through threats and false promises of career advancement, prosecutors added.

He is also being sued in a Manhattan federal court by women accusing him of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking. The class-action lawsuit was filed in February by 10 unnamed female plaintiffs. Dozens of additional women have since been added to the complaint.

Lawyers for Mr. Nygard have said in court papers that the lawsuit’s allegations are false. The lawyers also accused financier

Louis Bacon

of funding the lawsuit “to inflict devastating harm on Mr. Nygard and the Nygard businesses.” According to the filing, Mr. Bacon and Mr. Nygard have had a decadelong dispute involving neighboring vacation homes in the Bahamas.

Representatives for Mr. Bacon declined to comment on the arrest of Mr. Nygard.

Greg Gutzler, a plaintiff attorney in the civil suit, said in a statement that Mr. Nygard’s criminal indictment validated the accusations of the plaintiffs.

“On behalf of the dozens of survivors of decades-long abuse, we are encouraged that a small measure of justice for Peter Nygard is finally developing, and relieved that some degree of accountability is hopefully forthcoming,” Mr. Gutzler said in the statement.

—Vipal Monga contributed to this article.

Write to Ben Chapman at [email protected]