Lawyers for Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach are expected to argue Thursday that some of the complainants in his sexual assault case were coached by prosecutors before trial.

Defence lawyers are set to bring an abuse of process motion before the court in the final stretch of legal submissions at the businessman’s Toronto trial.

The defence initially said it would seek a stay of proceedings but last week indicated that was no longer the case, suggesting the alleged abuse of process should instead be considered in weighing the Crown’s evidence.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.

The trial is being heard by a judge alone and a date for the ruling has not yet been set.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges stemming from alleged incidents that took place decades ago involving seven complainants

As the trial went on, prosecutors withdrew five charges related to three of the women, leaving Stronach with seven charges related to four women.

Last week, the judge presiding over the case said she “couldn’t possibly” convict the businessman based on the evidence of one of the remaining complainants, whose testimony she deemed unreliable.

Two of the charges are related to that complainant, who alleged Stronach raped her in the early 1980s.

The founder of the auto parts manufacturer Magna International is also set to face trial in nearby Newmarket, Ont., later this year.

Lawyers are set to continue their final submissions Wednein the
sexual assault trial of billionaire businessman Frank Stronach.

Stronach’s defence lawyer argued Tuesday that his accusers lied and in some cases fabricated their accounts.

Leora Shemesh also criticized what she described as “tunnel vision” among the officers who investigated the decades-old allegations, arguing it tainted the evidence.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.

Crown prosecutors argued any inconsistencies in the complainants’ testimony were peripheral and did not affect the core of their allegations.

Stronach, who achieved fame and wealth as the founder of the auto parts giant Magna International, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to seven complainants.

However, prosecutors have withdrawn five charges related to three complainants over the course of the trial, leaving him with seven charges related to four women.

Defence lawyers are set to call more witnesses Tuesday in the sexual assault trial of Canadian auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach.

The defence began presenting its case Monday, calling several witnesses, including the businessman’s former driver.

Glenn Anderson told the court he was on call to drive Stronach to work events, meetings and other engagements for roughly a decade in the 1980s.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

He testified that Stronach wasn’t a “car guy” and didn’t own any European or sports cars — only Cadillacs.

The final of seven complainants testified last week that Stronach picked her up in a low-slung, two-door foreign car she believed was a Porsche.

Stronach, who became one of Canada’s wealthiest people as the founder of the auto parts conglomerate Magna International, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to alleged incidents dating as far back as the 1970s.

Since the trial began last month, prosecutors have cut down the number of counts on which they are proceeding, and said Monday they are now seeking convictions on seven charges related to four complainants.

The defence is expected to start making its case Monday in the sexual assault trial of Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach.

Prosecutors finished presenting their evidence last week after calling all seven complainants and a friend of the final complainant as witnesses.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

On Friday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy suggested Stronach will eventually be found not guilty on some of the charges he faces.

The judge said a not-guilty verdict would be entered on a charge of attempted rape at a later time.

She said the same would be done for charges related to the sixth complainant, but did not specify when.

Stronach, who is 93, initially pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to alleged incidents stretching as far back as the 1970s.

A friend and colleague of one of the complainants is telling Frank Stronach’s sexual assault trial what she knew about the alleged incident.

The friend says the complainant indicated something had happened to her during a brief conversation on date rape seven to 10 years ago, but didn’t elaborate further.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The pair were on a business trip in June 2024 when Stronach was first charged, and the friend says she mentioned the news to the complainant.

She says the complainant turned white and said, “It’s him,” then asked to see an article on Stronach’s arrest.

The complainant mentioned Rooney’s, the restaurant and venue Stronach owned, but didn’t say anything beyond that, the friend says.

In August of that year, the friend accompanied the complainant to the police station and both ended up giving a statement.

Stronach, who is 93, faces 11 charges stemming from alleged incidents dating as far back as the 1970s. Prosecutors are seeking to withdraw one of the counts of sexual assault.

A lawyer representing Frank Stronach is questioning the final complainant in the businessman’s sexual assault case about the lawyers she consulted before speaking to police.

Leora Shemesh began cross-examining the woman Tuesday morning after the court heard some legal arguments.

The woman, who is in her late 60s, testified Monday that she went on a dinner date with Stronach in the early 1980s after meeting him at Rooney’s, the restaurant and nightlife venue he owned.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

She says he took her to a waterfront restaurant then invited her to his condo, which was in a building connected to the restaurant.

The woman says Stronach ended up pinning her on a cot in his apartment and she realized she couldn’t stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

Stronach, the founder and former CEO of the auto parts manufacturer Magna International, faces multiple charges related to alleged incidents that took place as far back as the 1970s. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

On Monday, prosecutors sought to withdraw a sexual assault charge related to a complainant who testified last week, but the defence argued he should be found not guilty on that count instead.

Court is expected to revisit the issue once the Crown has finished presenting its evidence.

Prosecutors last week withdrew a charge of forcible confinement related to the same complainant, who was the sixth to testify in the case.

A defence lawyer for Canadian businessman Frank Stronach is set to continue cross-examining one of his accusers Friday.

Leora Shemesh began questioning the woman, who is the fourth complainant to testify in the case, on Thursday afternoon after court took two unplanned pauses to deal with legal issues.

The issues arose after the woman repeatedly referred to her preparatory meetings with the prosecution while testifying about an alleged sexual assault that took place in the early 1980s.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Shemesh has previously indicated she will seek a stay of proceedings over allegations that some of the complainants were coached by the Crown ahead of the trial.

On Thursday, she pressed the woman on what was said during a January meeting, and the woman maintained that the Crown never advised her on how to give her evidence.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges stemming from alleged incidents involving seven complainants and dating back as far as the 1970s.

None of the complainants can be identified under a standard publication ban. All are expected to testify in the trial, which began last week after some delay.

A third complainant is set to testify in Toronto Wednesday at the sexual assault trial of auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to seven complainants over alleged incidents spanning decades.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Two complainants, both women in their 60s, have testified in the trial since it began last week, laying out their accounts of encounters with the billionaire businessman in the early 1980s.

On Tuesday, the second complainant said she met Stronach for dinner after asking him for information on her termination from his restaurant.

She said she felt obligated to accept his invitation to see his condo afterward, and that she felt “terrified” when he groped her as she was trying to leave.

All seven complainants are expected to testify in the case. None can be identified under a standard publication ban.

An update is expected today in the case of Canadian businessman Frank Stronach, whose sexual assault trial in Toronto is facing some delays.

The trial was scheduled to begin earlier this week but Stronach’s legal team asked for more time to prepare after receiving what it described as a large volume of new materials that includes several videotaped statements.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The defence also said it is making an application for more disclosure and that there may be additional motions before the trial gets underway.

Stronach’s lawyers are expected to report back on their progress in court today.

The 93-year-old tycoon, who became one of Canada’s wealthiest people as the founder of the auto parts manufacturer Magna International, is facing 12 charges related to seven complainants.

The charges stem from alleged incidents that took place between the 1970s and 1990s.

Stronach, who has denied all allegations, was charged with 18 offences related to 13 complainants in 2024, but the case was eventually split in two.

A separate trial on the remaining allegations is scheduled later this year in Newmarket, Ont.