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WARNING: This story references sexual assault allegations and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Two more charges will be withdrawn in the sexual assault trial of Frank Stronach, meaning the Canadian businessman is now facing seven counts, down from the original 12.
“We are not going to make submissions at the conclusion of the trial, that there is sufficient evidence to sustain findings of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to the allegations relating to … counts seven and eight on the indictment,” Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic told court on Monday.
Those two counts of sexual assault relate to the fourth and fifth of the seven complainants in the case to testify.
Earlier, on Friday, Vlacic told the court that after reviewing the evidence related to the attempt rape charge connected to the third complainant to testify, “it does fall short” in terms of meeting the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Meanwhile, the Crown had previously told court it would be withdrawing two other counts — forcible confinement and sexual assault, related to the sixth complainant to testify.
On Day 2 of his sexual assault trial, billionaire Frank Stronach’s legal team aggressively cross-examined a complainant who accuses him of groping her in a restaurant, then raping her in a Toronto condo in 1981.
Stronach now faces seven counts, related to four of the initial seven complainants. The 93-year-old founder of auto-parts giant Magna International has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Fourth and fifth complainants’ testimony
The fourth complainant had previously told court that she was a university student who had worked for Stronach’s company in the summer of 1983.
The woman told court that she got the job because her father had known Stronach. Near the end of the summer, she accepted an invitation from Stronach to go out for dinner, the woman told court.
During that evening, she said she also accepted Stronach’s invite for her to see the view from his apartment at Harbourfront. Once there, she said Stronach raped her.
But Stronach’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh, rejected the woman’s testimony that she had memory lapses about the alleged assault, and instead, suggested the woman had regret about the incident.
Shemesh also pointed out to court that during her evidence, the Crown had never specifically asked whether the woman had consented.
As well, the woman, on her second day in the witness box, began by apologizing to the court for having denied, under questioning by Vlacic the day before, that she read a June 2024 article in the Globe and Mail by a woman who is suing Stronach in a civil lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the fifth complainant to testify said that Stronach had raped her inside a hotel room back in 1990.
But Shemesh accused the woman of having a “tendency to lie” and making up new details about the alleged attack during her testimony, ones she had never previously relayed to police.
The decision to no longer pursue two of the charges related to the fourth and fifth complainant to testify comes as Shemesh, Stronach’s lawyer, is launching her defence.
Last week, the Crown rested its case, having heard from all seven complainants whose allegations against Stronach included sexual assault and the historical charge of rape.
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 where they allege he sexually assaulted them.
The Crown called eight witnesses — all seven complainants and the friend and co-worker of the final complainant — to testify.
