94-Year-Old Magna Founder Faces Sentencing for Historic Indecent Assault Conviction

A sentencing hearing took place for 94-year-old Frank Stronach, the billionaire who established Magna International, after an Ontario Superior Court judge found him guilty of indecent assault related to an alleged 1977 incident in a Toronto apartment. The judge called the conduct "gross and disgusting" but noted the attempted-rape charge was withdrawn because penetration could not be proven. Earlier, the same judge had convicted Stronach of a separate sexual-assault claim from the early 1980s, but a mistrial was later declared after the defense presented contradictory emails, prompting a Crown appeal.

Throughout the two-month trial, the Crown dropped several of the original twelve charges due to insufficient evidence. Stronach pleaded not guilty to all counts and did not testify. He is also slated to face a second trial in Newmarket, Ontario, next year.