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Frank Stronach was granted a mistrial on his sexual assault conviction, a rare post-conviction ruling that leaves the billionaire businessman facing the only remaining sentence from a dozen original charges.
The 93-year-old was found guilty last month of sexual assault and the historical offense of indecent assault related to separate charges brought by two women at trial.
A mistrial on the sexual assault charge was granted by a judge Friday after emails from the woman’s lawyer in a separate civil complaint were presented to the court, Stronach’s lawyer Leora Shemesh said.
Shemesh argued that the emails told a story inconsistent with the woman’s testimony in the criminal trial. She called the decision to declare a mistrial after a conviction “incredibly rare.”
The court did not hear the woman’s views before the mistrial was declared, Shemesh said.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed the mistrial but did not provide details.
Mistrial linked to alleged attack in early 1980s
Stronach initially faced a dozen charges stemming from allegations made between the late 1970s and 1990s and involving seven complainants. His trial began in February, but by the time arguments ended in April, prosecutors had dropped one charge and agreed to find Stronach not guilty on four more.
As a result, Stronach faced five charges relating to three complainants before being found guilty of two counts. He will be sentenced on the indecent assault charge in September.
The mistrial stems from Stronach’s alleged sexual assault of a woman in the early 1980s. The woman said she had dinner with Stronach at Rooney’s, the restaurant he owned at the time, and was invited to tour his apartment. When she tried to leave, she said, Stronach fondled her, running his hands up and down her body, touching her breasts and thighs.
The woman said she was later offered a job at Magna International, a company founded by Stronach in the 1950s. She worked for the company for several years, but did not work directly with Stronach, she said.
In her June ruling, Superior Court Judge Anne Molloy said she was convinced Stronach briefly touched the woman without her consent, calling the woman a compelling and believable witness.
WATCH | Stronach was found guilty of sexual assault and indecent assault last month:
Billionaire Frank Stronach found guilty of sexual assault and indecent assault
Ontario billionaire Frank Stronach, founder of Magna International, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault against two different women. He was found not guilty of three other charges.
The indecent assault charge stemmed from an incident that occurred in 1977. She said Stronach had dinner with the woman at Rooney’s restaurant and invited her to his apartment.
Once inside, he disappeared for several minutes, then the woman felt a jolt that knocked her into a chair, she said. Stronach lifted her skirt and she felt his erect penis against her underwear, as if he was trying to penetrate them, although she didn’t know if he had taken off his clothes, she said.
Because the incident occurred in 1977, Stronach was found guilty of the indecent assault charge, which existed at the time but was included in the sexual assault charge when it was filed in 1983.