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this article is reproduced from [china news network];

china news service, toronto, september 9th. canada's former "fashion tycoon", 83-year-old peter nygard, was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a court in toronto on september 9th.

taking into account time already spent in custody, nygard will serve nearly seven years in prison, and he will be eligible for parole in more than two years.

nygard was previously accused of assaulting five women in the private bedroom suite of his office in downtown toronto between the late 1980s and around 2005. last november, a jury found him guilty of four counts of sexual assault, but not guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of forced confinement.

the court has placed a publication ban on the identities of the victims in the case, so their identities cannot be revealed to the media.

nygard's attorneys said they would appeal the conviction and sentence.

in addition, nygard also faces a series of charges in quebec, manitoba, and new york, usa. among them, he faces nine charges in new york, including conspiracy to commit extortion, transporting minors for the purpose of prostitution, and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. as a result, he was arrested by law enforcement in winnipeg in december 2020 under the canadian extradition act. in may of this year, the manitoba supreme court rejected nygard's application for judicial review of the extradition order.

born in finland, nygard immigrated to canada with his parents when he was young. he founded his fashion company in winnipeg, a city in central canada, in 1967, producing women's clothing under multiple brands. in 2020, his company was accused of involvement in a sex trafficking case, and nygard stepped down as chairman. the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and entered bankruptcy administration. (end)