Peter Nygard bail hearing delayed as defence seeks release due to COVID-19 pandemic

Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard and his defence team say the 79-year-old is "getting weaker every day" while in jail and argue he must be released due to the deadly risk ofCOVID-19.

"In effect, to delay this matter is to play Russian roulette with his health," Nygardlawyer Richard Wolsonsaid on Wednesday morning during a bail hearing in Winnipeg.

Nygard is facing charges in the United States that include racketeering, sex trafficking and sexual assault allegedly involving dozens of women and girls.

He was arrested at a home in Winnipeg on Dec. 14 and has been in custody ever since. His arrest follows an extraditionrequest from the U.S. government.

On Wednesday, his legal team sought Nygard'srelease on bail, citing hishealth concerns and the risk of contracting COVID-19.

"I am getting weaker every day. I have lost weight; have difficulty breathing," Nygard wrote in a three-page affidavit.

WATCH | Bail hearing for Peter Nygard rescheduled after Crown seeks delay:

Bail hearing for Peter Nygard rescheduled after Crown seeks delay

4 years ago

Duration 1:42

A Manitoba judge has put over a bail hearing for Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard after counsel acting for the attorney general of Canada sought a delay and a special sitting dedicated to the matter.

Nygard, who appeared in court via video link from Headingley Correctional Centre in Manitoba, was wearing a blue surgical mask andhis hair was in a bun.

Jay Prober, another defencelawyer, told the court that Nygard is not a flight riskand said the longer that he"languishes" in jail, the greater the risk to his health.

The hearing was ultimately adjourned and rescheduledafter a lawyer acting for the Attorney General of Canada sought a delay and a special sitting dedicated to the matter.

Scott Farlinger told the court thatNygard has the means to flee and a history of skipping court appearances in the Bahamas. He said Nygard's defence team submitted materials late including Nygard's own affidavit, which Farlinger said was not provided until Monday morning.

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench JusticeTheodorBock granted the request for a delay. The bail hearing is now set for a special sitting on Jan. 19 and 20.

'Force, fraud and coercion' to entice victims, RCMP allege

U.S. authorities allege Nygard forcibly sexually assaulted, drugged and/or coerced dozens of victims in the U.S., Canada and the Bahamas, as well as other locations. Officials laid out the allegationsin a 24-page federal grand jury indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York last year.

The RCMPdetailed further allegations in an affidavit filed in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench in December, requesting authorization to arrest Nygard on the U.S. government's behalf under the Canada-U.S. extradition treaty.

"Nygard and multiple co-conspirators have used force, fraudand coercion to recruit and entice female victims, both adults and girls ages 14 to 17, to engage in paid sex with Nygard and, on occasion, with Nygard's business and personal associates," the document says.

In the affidavit, theRCMPallegeNygardis a danger to the community, both in Canada and the U.S., and express concern thathe would flee if he wasn't arrested.

U.S. authorities have been conducting a long-term investigation into Nygard and his alleged co-conspirators, "establishing a decades-long pattern of criminal activity" that has affected "hundreds of victims,"RCMP Sgt. Stefane Nicolas wrote in the affidavit.

Police also alleged women have been victimizedin Winnipeg, Falcon Lake, Man., and Toronto, with the help of employees of Nygard's global fashion business.

Headingley Correctional Centre, where Nygard is in custody, is currently the site of a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Manitoba government. The institution has had a total of253 cases, but only five of those were considered active as of Wednesday evening.

In an affidavit provided to the media on Wednesday,Nygard's Winnipeg-based doctor told court thatNygard has a pacemaker and Type 2 diabetes controlled by medication and diet, among other health concerns.

Nygardwrotein his own affidavit that he's experiencing dizziness, fainting spells and numbness in his hands and toes. He also wrote that he's able to eat onlya small portion of the food served in the correctional facility.

He added thathe cut out white sugar and white carbs 10 years ago on the advice of a doctorand that he's becomesick after eating some of the meals with sugar in them.

Nygard also raised concerns about his blood pressure, joint pain and lack of sleep, since he has to sleep at a 45-degree angle. His doctor wrote thatNygard has suspected sleep apnea due to difficulty breathing at night.

Spent summer at property in cottage country

The affidavits provided to the media on Wednesday also shed light on Nygard's movements before his December arrest. Nygard wrote that he's been in Canada since February and thathe has always been"ready and willing" to turn himself in to police.

In another document, a U.S. investigator describes interviewing one of Nygard'sfemale employeeswho waswith him at his property in Falcon Lake, Man., from late February to late September.

The document says she was contacted by Winnipeg police and the FBIbut said she told investigators she was never threatened by Nygard, forced to comply with advances or asked to "get anybody" for him. The woman returned to the U.S. in September, the document says.

Nygard also faces a class-action lawsuit in New York in which 57 women accuse him of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking dating back to 1977. The lawsuit names multiple upper-level Nygard company executives, officers and directors accused of enabling the sex assaults.

In August, thatcase was put on hold to allow the FBI to continue its criminal investigation intoNygard.

The FBI is urging anyone who believes they area victim of the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Nygard to call 1-800-CALLFBI(1-800-225-5324).