TORONTO – The judge presiding over Peter Nygard’s sexual assault trial is giving his final instructions to the jury before they begin deliberating their verdict in the case.
Judge Robert Goldstein tells the jury that it is their duty to evaluate the evidence impartially, guided by the legal principles he has laid out.
“You should carefully and impartially review all of the evidence presented at trial,” Goldstein told jurors. “You are the judge of the facts.”
The jury heard closing arguments from the defense and Crown on Tuesday after six weeks of testimony and evidence presented in court.
Jury deliberations are expected to begin Wednesday afternoon.
Nygard, an 82-year-old former fashion mogul, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents from the 1980s to the mid-2000s.
Several complainants in the trial have alleged they were taken to Nygard’s Toronto headquarters under pretexts ranging from tours to interviews. The encounters ended in a top-floor bedroom suite where they claimed they were sexually assaulted.
Nygard denied these allegations when he testified in his own defense, saying he never did the things the five complainants accused him of.
During cross-examination, Crown counsel disputed statements Nygard had previously made to police and in court, pointing out inconsistencies and contradictions in his statements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2023.
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