Magna founder Frank Stronach convicted of sexual assault

An Ontario judge on Friday found billionaire businessman Frank Stronach guilty of sexual assault and indecent assault involving two women in incidents dating back to the late 1970s and 1980s, concluding a trial that began in February and centered on allegations spanning nearly five decades.guelph.ctvnews+2

The Verdict

Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy convicted the 93-year-old founder of Magna International ↘ 1.36% on two of the five remaining charges he faced, acquitting him on the rest. He was found guilty of sexually assaulting a former employee of Rooney's, a restaurant and nightlife complex he once owned, and of indecently assaulting a woman who frequented the venue in the 1970s.cp24+1

The former employee testified that she met Stronach for dinner one evening in the early 1980s after reaching out to him about her termination from Rooney's. She described him as a "fatherly mentor" during the meal, but said he groped her — running his hands over her body and touching her breasts and hips — as she tried to leave his nearby condominium afterward.barrie360

The second complainant said that after a lobster dinner at Rooney's in 1977, Stronach invited her to his apartment, where he pushed her over the arm of a chair and pressed his erect penis against her while trying to penetrate her underwear. She said she freed herself and left without a word being spoken.barrie360

A Narrowed Case

Stronach, the Austro-Canadian tycoon who built one of the world's largest automotive parts suppliers, had originally pleaded not guilty to 12 charges stemming from allegations by seven complainants. Over the course of the trial, prosecutors withdrew one charge and agreed he should be acquitted on four others. Justice Molloy then set aside charges related to a further complainant whose testimony she deemed unreliable, leaving five charges tied to three women. Molloy said there were "too many uncertainties" to convict on the charges related to the third remaining complainant.cbc+3

What Comes Next

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September. Stronach also faces a separate trial in Newmarket, Ontario, involving six additional complainants, now set for May 2027. He faces 18 charges in total across both proceedings. Stronach has denied all allegations against him and did not testify in his own defense during the Toronto trial.cp24+4