A complainant says she was the victim of touching by Frank Stronach in an apartment
(Toronto) Over a meal at a restaurant, Frank Stronach made her feel like a “fatherly mentor,” but things changed once they were alone in his downtown Toronto apartment, a woman testified at her sexual assault trial, describing an evening in the early 1980s.
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The woman had previously worked at Stronach’s restaurant and nightclub and agreed to meet him for dinner after asking him for details about his dismissal from the popular establishment, she said.
After dinner, her former employer asked her to come look at his nearby apartment and she reluctantly agreed, even though she felt “uncomfortable.”
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her heart start pounding almost immediately after entering what she thought was a penthouse, she said.
“I was afraid to be alone with him in that apartment,” she said, adding that the “paternal atmosphere” had disappeared.
When she insisted on leaving, Stronach helped her put on her coat, but he held her by the collar or shoulders when she turned to face him, she said. The woman leaned against the wall near the door, then Stronach approached her and groped her while trying to convince her to stay, she said.
“He was going up and down, up and down my body,” touching her breasts and hips, the victim said, imitating the movement with both hands. “I was terrified. »
The woman said she did her best to get out of the situation.
“He was older than my father, I was absolutely not interested,” she said.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a minute or two, Stronach walked away and the woman ran away, disoriented by the turn of events, she said. Stronach’s driver took her home, she added.
Stronach, 93, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges related to seven plaintiffs relating to alleged incidents dating back to the 1970s.
A testimony full of emotions
The woman, now 63, is the second complainant to testify. The seven plaintiffs, none of whom can be identified under a standard publication ban, are expected to testify at the judge-alone trial, which began last week after some delays.
The woman’s testimony Tuesday was at times overcome with emotion, and she wiped away tears as she expressed discomfort at having to discuss such intimate things in public.
A few days or weeks after the incident, the complainant said she received a call from Magna International, the company Stronach had founded in a rented garage in the 1950s. She was offered a job interview.
She accepted and eventually worked at Magna for several years. She saw Stronach regularly, but they never worked together. She added that he was “pleasant, polite and professional.”
The woman first contacted police in August 2024 after seeing a report on the evening news about Stronach’s indictment, she said. In this report, the famous entrepreneur denied the allegations and called his accusers liars, she said.
“I didn’t sleep a wink all night,” she said.
She said she may have seen other articles about the allegations afterward, but deliberately sought to stay away, particularly after filing a formal complaint with Peel Regional Police in September 2024.
Stronach’s lawyer questioned the woman about her statements to police, including one where she said she did not feel like she had been sexually assaulted that night.
The woman responded that she was specifically referring to a sexual relationship when she made the comments.
Defense lawyer Leora Shemesh also suggested the woman’s testimony included details she did not tell police, including that Stronach helped her put on her coat or held the lapels of her jacket, or that he tried to kiss her on the cheek as she entered.
The police didn’t ask her to give specific details, so she gave them a general idea, the woman replied.
“I’m going to give more details today than I have in all this time,” she said.
The defense questioned the woman’s account of why she contacted Stronach, how the dinner went and how she got an interview at Magna, suggesting that she contacted the businessman in hopes of finding a new job and wanted to meet with him to pitch her application.
The woman rejected this suggestion, emphasizing that it was an entry-level position and insisting that her intention was to get an answer regarding her termination.
Me Shemesh found it “strange” that the woman was “vaguely interested” in the position, given her perceived fear of Stronach in her apartment.
“What I understood that evening was that I couldn’t, that I never wanted to be alone with this man again. […] I didn’t want this to happen again,” the woman replied.
Last week, the court heard testimony from the first complainant, a woman in her 60s. She said Stronach came over with champagne while she was dining at his restaurant with friends in the early 1980s, then sexually assaulted her on the dance floor.
She testified that she woke up later that night in an unfamiliar location and realized he was raping her.
The defense suggested the first complainant’s account had evolved over time, highlighting inconsistencies between her statements to police, the media and the court over the years.
