Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach found guilty of sexual assault
Law Firm Blogs
Austrian-Canadian billionaire and automotive business founder Frank Stronach was found guilty Friday of sexual assault and indecent assault of two women decades ago.
Stronach, who is 93, had been accused of alleged incidents involving seven complainants and pleaded not guilty to 12 charges.
Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy, who is overseeing the case, said the two women who brought those allegations were credible and careful witnesses and she believed their accounts of what happened all those years ago.
Outside court, Stronach's lawyer said they would take time to thoroughly review the decision but were satisfied he had been found not guilty on most of the charges.
"Mr. Stronach has been found guilty on the least serious offenses for two complainants who were not exposed in any way, he was not exposed … no one had their clothes off," Leora Shemesh said.
Despite the two findings of guilt, Shemesh said Stronach "really is a national treasure and should be treated as such, in my respectful opinion."
Stronach became one of Canada's wealthiest people by creating auto parts giant Magna in his garage in 1957. He also founded The Stronach Group, a company that specializes in horse racing.
Stronach resigned as Magna's chairman in 2011 and founded his own political party in his native Austria the following year.
His trial started in February, and by the time arguments wrapped up in April, prosecutors had withdrawn one charge and agreed Stronach should be found not guilty on four more. He was found guilty of two of the remaining charges Friday. The allegations spanned from the late 1970s to the 1990s.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September.
Stronach faces a separate trial on similar charges in Newmarket, Ontario, which is set to take place in May.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court will decide whether criminal cases must have 12 jurors, in Florida case
Law Firm Blogs 06/18/2026The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states can use juries made up of only six people in criminal cases, instead of the usual 12. The case puts a Florida chiropractor convicted of practicing with a suspended license in an unlikely lea...
-
Spirit Airlines goes out of business, ending operations immediately
Law Firm Blogs 05/23/2026Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.The ultralow cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on i...
-
Trials delayed for mother, son in Mississippi fraud cases
Law Firm Blogs 11/13/2021Judges have delayed the state and federal trials of a mother and son charged in one of Mississippi’s largest public corruption cases. State Auditor Shad White has said Nancy New and Zachary New were responsible for misspending millions of dolla...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.