Frank Stronach Convicted of Historical Sexual Offenses, Acquitted of Rape Charges
Disgraced auto parts billionaire Frank Stronach, founder of Magna International, has been convicted of historical indecent assault and sexual assault following a lengthy single-judge trial in Toronto. The 93-year-old, who holds the Order of Canada, was acquitted of 10 other charges, including the more serious charge of rape.
Supreme Court Justice Anne Molloy presided over the trial, which saw seven complainants present on 12 counts. By the time the trial concluded, the Crown had withdrawn numerous allegations, and several witnesses faced vigorous cross-examination by defense lawyer Leora Shemesh.
Two Key Convictions
The judge found the accounts of two women credible. The first, a former legal secretary who frequented Stronach’s disco, Rooney’s, in the 1970s, testified that in 1977, when she was in her 20s, Stronach invited her to his apartment and pushed her over a chair, pulled up her skirt, and pressed his groin against her. Justice Molloy described his behavior as “morally repugnant” and “gross and disgusting,” convicting him of historical indecent assault.
The second conviction involved a former cocktail waitress who worked at Rooney’s in the early 1980s. She had arranged to meet Stronach for dinner to discuss why she had been unexpectedly fired. Molloy found her to be “a compelling, credible and truthful witness” in her account of how Stronach ran his hands up and down her body, touching the side of her breasts and hips as he helped her into her coat and tried to persuade her to stay at his harborside apartment. “While this may have been the way many men behaved in the ’80s, that does not excuse the behavior or make it consensual,” Molloy wrote, convicting him of sexual assault.
Acquittals and Reliability Concerns
Molloy found significant reliability problems with the testimony of two other complainants. A former groom at Stronach’s barn claimed she was digitally penetrated on the dance floor at his disco and then raped at his waterfront condo, but the judge found her account “full of holes, gaps and inconsistencies” and completely unbelievable. In fact, Stronach’s attorney demonstrated he was out of the country at the time the alleged rape occurred in 1980.
A businesswoman who claimed consensual kisses led to rape was also not believed. Molloy said she lied under oath on various topics and could not exclude the possibility of a financial motive, though she did not believe that was her primary motivation.
Questions About Justice and Resources
Justice Molloy reflected on the role of Stronach’s considerable financial resources in his defense, noting that private investigators were able to refute several serious allegations. “I wonder whether a defendant without the financial resources available to Mr. Stronach would have been able to defend himself against these allegations as effectively,” she warned in her 83-page judgment.
She also criticized the “believe the victim” approach taken by Peel Regional Police, arguing that someone accused of sexual assault deserves the same fair and unbiased investigation as any other defendant. She called for a careful analysis and internal review of these police policies.
Stronach’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh, said they were pleased with the acquittal on the most serious charges but disappointed by the convictions for the minor offenses. She said they would carefully review the decision and consider next steps.
Stronach returns to court in September for sentencing and will face sexual assault charges for a second time in Newmarket next year.
