Closing submissions begin in Frank Stronach sexual assault trial

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

Closing submissions have begun in the sexual assault trial of Canadian businessman Frank Stronach in a Toronto courtroom.

Stronach’s defence lawyer Leora Shemesh is addressing the court first, laying out her case for why the 93-year-old founder of auto-parts giant Magna International should be found not guilty of all the sexual offence-related charges against him.

Stronach told reporters that “justice will prevail” as he entered the courthouse this morning.

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

Now, with all the evidence heard, those charges have been whittled down to seven — related to four of the initial seven complainants.

The allegations against Stronach dated back almost 50 years, spanning the period between 1977 and 1990. Two of the counts, rape and attempted rape, were considered historical charges, as they were abolished when the Criminal Code was amended in 1983 to create the offence of sexual assault.

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.

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

The judge-alone trial is being overseen by Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy.

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 he attempted to rape her in a midtown Toronto apartment.

Challenging complainants’ details

During the trial, Shemesh went through each complainant’s past statements to police, meticulously attempting to undermine their credibility.

She suggested that details they initially provided about their alleged assaults had either changed once they came to court or that new details had emerged.

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 also scrutinized some of their personal backgrounds, linking them to credibility issues.

Throughout the trial, the Crown told the court it would be withdrawing some of the charges.

The Crown withdrew the charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement related to the sixth woman to testify.

Later in the trial, Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic told court that the Crown would be dropping another charge: the attempted rape count related to the third complainant to testify.

Days later, on March 9, Vlacic said the Crown would be withdrawing two counts of sexual assault related to the fourth and fifth complainants in the case to testify.