Frank Stronach will not face jail time for indecent assault conviction, judge says

Frank Stronach will not face jail time for indecent assault conviction, judge says

Stronach's lawyer calls for absolute discharge

WARNING: This story refers to sexual assault allegations and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach will not serve any time in jail for his conviction of indecent assault, an Ontario judge said on Thursday.

Ontario Crown prosecutors had been asking that the 94-year-old founder of auto-parts giant Magna International be sentenced to six months in jail for that conviction.

But at the end of the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy said while she hadn't yet decided the sentence she would impose, jail time would not be part of her decision.

Molloy said she had "very firmly" decided that, based on the circumstances of the case, she would not be sentencing someone who is 94 to a jail term. Court will return on Dec. 11 for that decision.

Assistant Crown attorney Jelena Vlacic had also asked for a Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order and that Stronach be placed on Canada’s National Sex Offender Registry for 10 years.

Molloy asked Vlacic what she would consider to be a reasonable conditional sentence for Stronach. Vlacic said six months house arrest with exceptions for medical appointments and court appearances.

When his judge-alone trial began in a Toronto courtroom in February, Stronach was facing 12 charges related to allegations of sexual assault from seven women dating back almost 50 years.

But at his sentencing hearing on Thursday, the 94-year-old founder of auto-parts giant Magna International is facing sentencing on just one of those charges — indecent assault.

Court hears victim impact statement

On that charge, one of the women had told the court that Stronach invited her to a midtown Toronto apartment sometime in the fall of 1977, and while there, he bent her over the arm of a chair, lifted up her skirt and tried to rape her.

In a victim impact statement on Thursday, the woman told court that she had felt ambushed and overpowered by Stronach and that her physical privacy had been violated without her consent.

The woman, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, said the assault had destroyed her sense of safety in social settings and that her feeling of apprehension is ongoing.

"I felt that I deserved an apology. I was upset when none was forthcoming," she told the court.

"The impact of an assault is not limited to the physical. It can also jolt one's identity and personality," she said. "Recovering one's comfort with people requires time and resilience, and it may never be complete."

Crown, defence make submissions

Vlacic, the Crown prosecutor, argued that the passage of time since the assault occurred is a consideration but that people need to be held to account for their conduct.

She said those found guilty must pay for their crimes and that to do otherwise would encourage people to lie low and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

But Stronach's lawyer, Leora Shemesh, countered that her client, instead of any jail time, should receive an absolute discharge — meaning the finding of guilty would remain but no conviction would be registered and Stronach would not have a criminal record. The finding of guilt would still come up in a background check but only for a year.

She also argued that Stronach should not be registered as a sex offender.

Stronach's lawyer accuses sex assault complainant of having a 'tendency to lie'

Shemesh went through a list of Stronach's accomplishments and contributions to society, stressing as well that until these charges, he had had no brushes with the law.

She told the court that Stronach faces only one charge from the initial 12 and that this particular offence of indecent assault, "on the continuum of sexual or indecent assault, is on the least serious end of the spectrum."

"The Crown's position is manifestly excessive, ... unreasonable and seems quite un-Canadian," Shemesh said, noting how Stronach's honours have been revoked, his name has been stripped from various centres and "dragged through the mud," and he has suffered and been punished enough.

Stronach had been charged with attempted rape and indecent assault for that particular incident. But during the course of the trial, the Crown dropped the attempted rape charge.

In her decision, Molloy agreed that much of what the witness described had happened, but also agreed with the Crown's decision to withdraw the attempted rape charge because it was unclear whether Stronach would have been able to penetrate the woman based on her state of dress at the time.

Still, Molloy referred to it as "gross and disgusting conduct," which is why she found him guilty of indecent assault. The offence is a historical charge, having been repealed from the Criminal Code in 1983. That means anyone charged similarly today would face a sexual assault charge.

In June, Molloy also found Stronach guilty of sexual assault related to another woman who said Stronach groped her in his Toronto Harbourfront condo sometime in 1983 or 1984. The woman said she had gone to meet him for dinner to discuss why she had been fired as a waitress at his then restaurant, Rooney's. She said Stronach invited her to his condo, which is where he groped her.

Molloy said she was "completely convinced" by the woman's evidence. Molloy did, however, "with considerable trepidation," describe it as a minor sexual assault, saying that the conduct was at the "low end" of the spectrum of sexual assault.

2nd conviction granted mistrial

However, weeks after the decision, emails were presented in court from the woman's lawyer in a separate civil complaint. Stronach's lawyer Leora Shemesh alleged those emails told a story inconsistent with the woman's testimony in the criminal trial.

Molloy then granted a mistrial on the sexual assault conviction. The Crown is appealing that decision.

Throughout the trial, which lasted more than two months, the Crown withdrew a number of charges following the testimony and cross-examination of some of the complainants, saying there was not sufficient evidence to sustain findings of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on those particular counts.

By the time Molloy was set to render her decision in June, Stronach was facing five counts related to three women.

Crown appealing post-verdict mistrial in Frank Stronach sexual assault conviction

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

All of the initial seven complainants, whose allegations span the period between 1977 and 1990, testified in court, offering an emotional account of the sexual offences they say they experienced at the hands of Stronach.

Stronach, who was in court every day but never took the witness box in his own defence, had denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Meanwhile, Stronach is set to face another trial in Newmarket, Ont., next year. When Stronach was initially arrested in June 2024, he was charged with 18 offences involving 13 complainants. But the case was split into two trials later that year.

If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database. ​​

Mark Gollom is a Toronto-based reporter with CBC News. He covers Canadian and U.S. politics and current affairs.

With files from The Canadian Press