Stronach convicted of sexual assault in historic Ontario case

Frank Stronach, the 93-year-old founder of Magna International, was convicted Friday in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto of one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Justice Anne Molloy delivered the verdict in a case built on historic allegations from two women, while acquitting Stronach on three other charges.

Stronach showed no reaction as the decision was read. The ruling closed a trial that began in February and centered on accusations from seven complainants, with allegations stretching from the late 1970s into 1990. The case opened with 12 charges, but by the time closing arguments were heard in April, prosecutors had withdrawn one count and agreed Stronach should be found not guilty on four others, leaving five counts for Molloy to decide.

The convictions were linked to Rooney’s, the Toronto restaurant and nightlife complex Stronach once owned. The judge found that the evidence met the threshold on two counts involving two different women, giving the case its first guilty verdicts after months of testimony in one of Ontario’s most closely watched sexual-assault proceedings.

Stronach’s age, wealth and public standing gave the trial added weight beyond the courtroom. As the Austrian-Canadian industrialist who built Magna International and received the Order of Canada, he entered the proceedings as one of the country’s most recognizable business figures, now facing criminal accountability over allegations that dated back decades.

The Toronto verdict does not end Stronach’s legal troubles. He also faces a separate sexual-assault trial in Newmarket, Ontario, now set for May 2027 and expected to last four weeks. With one historic case decided and another still ahead, the legal scrutiny surrounding Stronach is set to continue well beyond the Toronto courtroom.