Sask. prosecutor to handle Peter Nygard's Winnipeg criminal charges

Peter Nygard's Winnipeg sex charges will be prosecuted by a Saskatchewan Crown attorney, a Manitoba court heard Friday.

Nygard, 82, did not appear in court for the brief hearing.

He now faces one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in Manitoba, following charges that were laid last month.

The offences were allegedly committed in November 1993 and involve a victim who was then 20 years old.

Lawyer Michelle Biddulph appeared in Court of King's Bench in Winnipeg on Friday via teleconferenceon behalf of Nygard's defence attorney, Toronto-based Brian Greenspan.

Lawyers in the case don't think Nygard's Manitoba court case can move ahead until after his trial in Toronto on charges he faces in Ontario,which is set to start in September and last 10 weeks.

The Winnipeg matter was adjourned to Sept. 22 for date setting. Nygard has waived his appearance for that date.

Charged in Winnipeg in July

Nygard,the former head of a multimillion-dollar clothing company,has been in custody sinceDecember 2020, when he was arrested at a Winnipeg home after he was charged with ninesex-related counts in New York. Hefacesextradition to the United Stateson those charges.

InOctober2021,he was transferred to the Toronto South Detention Centre, after being charged with further offencesin that city. He faces nine counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement in Toronto, related to allegations from the late 1980s and mid-2000s.

Healso facesone count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in Quebecon allegations thatinvolve the same person, and allegedly took place between November 1997and November1998. He is scheduled to stand trial in Quebec on those charges in June 2024.

Nygard is considered innocent until proven guilty. He has not been convicted of a criminal offence in Canada or the U.S.

Winnipeg police opened their investigation into Nygard in June 2020, but Manitoba prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges at that point.

However, the matter was forwarded to Saskatchewan Justice for an independent review in December 2022, which resulted in Nygard being charged with sexual assault and unlawful confinement in Winnipeg last month.

Winnipeg police say officers in their sex crimes unit arrested Nygard in Toronto, where he is currently detained.