Told through the voices of survivors, new podcast blows open the Peter Nygard case

Women from around the world have accused fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking in incidents across four decades. He denies it all.

The Evil By Design podcast investigates Nygard, who was recently arrested on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and related crimes. The podcast, largely told through the voice of survivors, examines decades' worth of allegations that span the globe and asks the crucial question: how did he get away with it for so long?

CBC investigative journalist Timothy Sawa, who hosts Evil By Design, has been chasing the Nygard story for more than ten years. He chatted with CBC Podcasts about this latest project, which is a co-production with The Fifth Estate. Here is part of their conversation.

• LISTEN | Evil By Design

You have a long history reporting on this story. Could you give us the background on the story itself — and your involvement as a journalist?

This story started for me when I received a tip, while I was living in Winnipeg, all the way back in 2009. A friend of a friend was an HR manager at Nygard in Winnipeg. He and a colleague decided they couldn't stay quiet about what they were witnessing, which was verbal, emotional and sexual harassment of staff. The allegations raised questions about workplace harassment and bullying and a highly sexualized atmosphere at his home in the Bahamas. From there I started to dig. Back then I spoke to dozens and dozens of former employees and people associated with Peter Nygard. I also travelled to the Bahamas to speak with sources there. A year and a half later we broadcast our first documentary on The Fifth Estate about Peter Nygard, exposing abusive work practices and sexual misconduct at Nygard Cay, his home in the Bahamas.

It is a story about more than one man. It's about the systems, cultures and people who protected him.- Timothy Sawa, investigative reporter and host of 

Before we broadcast our story, Nygard sued me and my colleagues at The Fifth Estate twice in civil court. After our story went to air, he sued us again two more times and he launched a criminal libel case against us, under a rarely used part of the Canadian criminal code that allows for private criminal prosecutions. If we were found guilty, the punishment could have been five years in prison. If the purpose of all of this was to block our reporting, it didn't work. Over the last decade we fought back in court and today all but one of those cases has been dropped. And our reporting continues.

On the surface, this is a story about one person's alleged crimes. But the narrative goes much deeper. Can you talk about the full picture being painted through Evil By Design?

Yes, it is a story about more than one man. It's about the systems, cultures and people who protected him. For example, we reveal how he used his money to keep his sex trafficking ring a secret from politicians and law enforcement in the Bahamas for decades. He also, as one woman we interviewed put it, "used our poverty against us," by targeting girls and young women living in impoverished areas in the Bahamas. 

But this kind of enabling and exploitation wasn't limited to the Bahamas. There were rumors and stories going back decades in Winnipeg, where he got his start, involving sexual harassment and misconduct. There was even a stayed rape charge in 1980. According to reporting at the time, the woman in that case was brought on the stand, but in the end refused to testify. One of the stories we tell is how the so-called "kingpins" of Winnipeg helped kill an explosive report about rape in the local newspaper in the 1990s. And then there are the loyal people he employed, some of them senior executives, who are accused of enabling and covering up his crimes. We'll explore that aspect too.

What's the relevance of this story in 2021?

It's about learning from mistakes and weaknesses in our systems so this never happens again. We've recently heard about several rich and powerful men who got away with sexual misconduct and rape for decades; people like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Cosby. It's essential we untangle how they did it, no matter how far back their crimes go, so that the women they hurt can find justice and so the systems that enabled them can be permanently dismantled. The story of Peter Ngyard is yet another cautionary tale about how money and power in the wrong hands can be devastating. I lived in Winnipeg in the 2000s and heard the stories and rumors then. Why did it take until now for him to be stopped? That's a key question we explore in this series that urgently needs to be answered.

Why is it important to you that this story get told on the global stage?

Peter Nygard may be Canadian, but he is accused of operating an international sex trafficking ring, spanning more than 40 years, in several countries, involving more than 80 young women and girls. The scope of what he's accused of is hard to comprehend. Predators aren't contained by borders. Especially wealthy and powerful ones. The stories of the devastation caused by Nygard span the globe. In addition, what he represents is a problem that isn't contained to Canada or any one part of the world. Wealthy and powerful men need to know this kind of behaviour will be met with justice, no matter where they live. This is a universal story that needs to be told and heard everywhere.

How difficult has it been hearing such troubling testimony from survivors? What got you through?

It's certainly a dark and painful topic to have spent more than a decade investigating, or defending in court, but it's just too important to let go. And anything I've experienced, obviously can't be compared to the impact on the women and girls whose lives have been forever changed by what happened to them. It really is heartbreaking to observe the damage Peter Nygard caused. However, for all of the damage and pain, I've seen just as much resilience and perseverance in his survivors that is truly inspiring. What's kept me going are the countless calls or emails from survivors expressing their gratitude for our work. None of this would have happened without their trust in me to tell their stories. I've been honored to tell their stories and grateful to the CBC for backing our work in court. This work has always been, and will always be, about the survivors.

It's an evolving story. What happens now?

Now we wait for the slow wheels of justice to turn. There are still criminal investigations in Winnipeg and the Bahamas and the U.S. extradition process is just getting underway. It could take years for this to be resolved. What still remains to be seen, however, is whether his enablers will also be held accountable. That's what I'm watching for next.

Conversation edited for length and clarity. Produced by Émilie Quesnel.