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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.
The sixth complainant in the sexual assault trial of Canadian businessman Frank Stronach is being cross-examined in a Toronto courtroom.
The 73-year-old woman, who is one of seven female complainants in the sexual assault trial of Stronach, became very emotional throughout her testimony on Wednesday, often breaking out in tears.
But Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic, along with Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy, were challenged to keep the complainant focused on the questions being asked her.
Molloy, at points, had to order the woman to stop talking and just answer the question.
Stronach, 93, faces a total of 11 charges, including sexual assault. On Wednesday, the Crown withdrew a forcible confinement charge related to the sixth complainant.
Two of the 11 counts, rape and attempted rape, are considered historical charges as they were abolished when the Criminal Code was amended in 1983 to create the offence of sexual assault.
Stronach, founder of auto-parts giant Magna International, has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges
The sixth complainant told court that she had met Stronach at Rooney’s, the restaurant he owned, on Valentine’s Day in 1986. She said she didn’t know who he was, only that he had introduced himself as “Frank.”
The woman told court that later in the evening, she accepted a ride home from him, but during the drive, he instead took the woman to his Harbourfront condo.
Although the woman said she told Stronach she just wanted to go home, she said he told her he was tired and just wanted to stop at the condo for five minutes for a coffee and maybe a bite to eat.
Canadian businessman Frank Stronach is facing 12 charges, including sexual assault and forcible confinement. Stronach has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The sixth of seven complainants testified today in a Toronto courtroom.
She said she reluctantly followed him up the condo. Once inside, the woman said that at one point Stronach disappeared, and then suddenly he was laying on a bed, naked.
She said he was telling her to come over to the bed, to take her clothes her off, but she refused.
The woman said she threatened to break the windows of his condo and jump into Lake Ontario.
She said she made her way to the couch, and Stronach put his pants on. She said he went to the couch to sit beside her and tried to calm her down, telling her not to panic or worry, that he wouldn’t do anything to her.
The woman told court that he then unzipped her pants and pulled them down part way and raped her.
The woman said that it wasn’t until a couple months later, that she saw Stronach’s picture in the Toronto Star that she realized he was the man who had allegedly attacked her.
