‘This rape has tainted my life'

Victims share statements at sentencing hearing for fashion mogul convicted of sexual assaults

- JACQUES GALLANT

The Crown argued Wednesday that Peter Nygard should be sentenced to 15 years while his defence countered that such a term would "most certainly be crushing" for the 83-year-old.

Recurring nightmares, derailed careers, the constant weight of fear, anxiety and depression.

And then having to re-live it all in court.

That's just some of the impact that Peter Nygard's victims shared in emotional statements Wednesday at his long-awaited Toronto sentencing hearing on four counts of sexual assault, where the Crown argued the 83-year-old disgraced fashion mogul should be sent to prison for 15 years and pay restitution.

The defence countered that such a length of time would "most certainly be crushing" for Nygard due to his age and many health issues, but did not propose a sentence, as the hearing continues Thursday.

The founder of Nygard International once the largest manufacturer of women's clothing in Canada - was convicted by a jury last November of sexually assaulting three young women and a 16-year-old girl in the top-floor bedroom of his former Toronto headquarters at 1 Niagara St. between the 1980s and 2005. The complainants' identities are covered by a standard publication ban.

Speaking through tears Wednesday while sitting in the witness box the same place from where she testified at trial last year the first complainant told the court about how the trauma of the assault led to debilitating panic attacks, preventing her from fully pursuing her career as an actress.

"This rape has tainted my life," said the woman, whom Nygard raped after chasing her around his bedroom and tearing off her clothes after the pair came back from a Rolling Stones concert in the late 1980s.