As billionaire businessman Frank Stronach's sex assault trial begins, one of his accusers testifies
Posted on: Feb 12, 2026 20:53 IST | Posted by: Cbc
< warm>WARNING: This clause references sexual assault allegations.
1 of septet complainants in the first sex assault trial for billionaire businessman Frank Stronach, which began Thursday after it was delayed last week, has started testifying in a Toronto courtroom.
The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, has alleged she was sexually assaulted by Stronach in 1981.
Stronach faces a total of 12 charges, including sexual assault and forcible confinement. Two of the counts, rape and attempted rape, are considered historical charges as they were abolished when the Criminal Code was amended in 1983 to create the offence of sexual assault.
The allegations by seven women in Toronto span the period between 1977 and 1990, with one specified as having happened in suburban Scarborough.
Stronach has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The judge-alone trial, which is being overseen by Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy, was originally slated to start last Tuesday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in downtown Toronto. It was delayed on the defence's request so Stronach's legal team could examine new disclosures.
His lawyer, Leora Shemesh, later argued that some of the complainants may have been coached during preparatory meetings with the Crown.
Shemesh has said she plans to apply for a stay of proceedings at the end of the trial out of concerns that abuse of process may have occurred in relation to the alleged coaching of witnesses.
Stronach, 93, an Order of Canada recipient, stepped down as Magna International’s chair in 2011. Born in Austria, he became one of Canada’s wealthiest people as founder of the auto-parts giant in the 1950s.
He's also set to face a separate trial in Newmarket, Ont., later this year after the case was split into two proceedings.
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