Canadian businessman Frank Stronach found guilty of sexual assault, indecent assault

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Breaking down charges withdrawn in sexual assault trial of Frank Stronach

Molloy is in court and says she has a decision in writing, and that it's very lengthy. 

"There were a lot of issues."

She says she's finding Stronach guilty on two counts and not guilty on all the rest.

We don't know yet what those counts are.

The Toronto courtroom is open where we expect Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy to render a decision today in the trial.

Stronach, wearing a dark suit, is inside, seated beside his lawyer Leora Shemesh. He made no comment as he entered the courthouse

Crown prosecutors Jelena Vlacic and Julia Bellehumeur are also seated.

The courtroom has about 20 people, including media, seated in the public gallery.

Born in Austria, Stronach became one of Canada's wealthiest people as founder of the auto-parts giant Magna International in the 1950s. 

An Order of Canada recipient, he stepped down as Magna's chair in 2011. 

He also founded the Stronach Group, one of the biggest industry names in horse racing, owning and operating thoroughbred tracks, including Santa Anita Park in California.

Magna and the Stronach Group have said he no longer has any involvement with the companies' operations.

Stronach is also set to face another sexual assault trial next year.

That jury trial is set to start in May 2027 in Newmarket, Ont., and is expected to last four weeks.

Stronach was charged in 2024 with 18 offences involving 13 complainants, but the case was split in two later that year.

When the trial began in February, Stronach was facing 12 counts related to seven female complainants, whose allegations included sexual assault and the historical charges of rape and attempted rape.

But throughout the trial, following the testimony and cross-examination of some of the complainants, the Crown withdrew a number of charges, saying there wasn't sufficient evidence to sustain findings of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on those particular counts.

For example, the Crown withdrew the charges of one of the complainants who also had alleged Stronach had raped her in his Toronto condominium. Molloy and Shemesh had expressed repeated frustration over the complainant's inability to focus on the questions and her interrupting and talking over Shemesh during cross-examination.

Meanwhile, Molloy herself told court near the end of the trial that she would be finding Stronach not guilty on two charges related to one of the complainants, whose testimony she characterized as "fatally flawed" and "not even remotely reliable."

Stronach's defence lawyer Leora Shemesh challenged complainants over specific details, including potential inconsistencies relating to the dates of when some of the assaults were alleged to have occurred. 

She accused some of the complainants of outright lying, while suggesting to some others that the sexual acts they described were consensual.

Shemesh suggested that details the complainants initially relayed about their alleged assaults had either changed once they came to court, or that new details had emerged.

She also raised questions about the thoroughness of the police investigation into her client, and she raised the issue of whether some complainants had been improperly coached by the Crown before the trial.

All of the initial seven complainants testified in court, offering an emotional account of the sexual offences they say they experienced at the hands of Stronach.

The allegations date back almost 50 years between 1977 and 1990, with the majority of the alleged offences said to have occurred in the 1980s.

Many of the women told similar stories — meeting Stronach at Rooney's, the Toronto restaurant he used to own, and then accepting an invitation back to his Harbourfront condo. It's there that they allege he sexually assaulted them.

Two of the seven complainants alleged they were attacked in other locations — one woman claimed Stronach raped her in a hotel, while another said Stronach attempted to rape her in a midtown Toronto apartment.

Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic, in her closing submission, argued that the women's allegations were solid and believable.

She went through the testimony of the remaining complainants, defending any apparent inconsistencies as not central to the core of the sexual assault allegations.

Hello, my name is Mark Gollom. I've been covering the Stronach trial since it began in February.

Today we are in a Toronto courtroom expecting to hear from Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy with an update on her finding whether Stronach is guilty or not guilty of the charges he's facing.

It's expected, however, that she will render a judgment today. That could include a finding of guilty or not guilty, with reasons, or a decision with reasons to follow.

Stronach now faces five charges related to three complainants. 

One complainant alleged that Stronach groped her in his Toronto Harbourfront condo. The woman said she met Stronach for dinner to discuss why she had been fired as a waitress at his restaurant Rooney's. She claimed he invited her to his condo, which is where he allegedly attacked her.

Stronach also faces sexual assault charges related to another complainant who alleged that he raped her in the same Toronto condo, following dinner with him at a nearby restaurant.

A third complainant told court that Stronach had invited her to a midtown Toronto apartment and while there, bent her over the arm of a chair lifted up her skirt and tried to rape her.

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