Victims’ names protected in sex assault case of Ontario billionaire Frank Stronach

A Brampton judge has put a publication ban in place for the names of the 10 alleged victims of Ontario billionaire businessman Frank Stronach, accused of multiple sexual assaults over nearly 50 years.

The 91-year-old Stronach did not appear in person on Monday in a Brampton courtroom following two arrests and over a dozen charges laid by Peel Regional Police in recent weeks.

Stronach, the billionaire founder of auto parts giant Magna International, is accused of sexually assaulting 10 complainants between 1977 and 2023. He was charged last month with five sex-related offences involving three complainants, soon followed by another eight charges involving seven complainants.

Court documents show the charges include rape, attempted rape, indecent assault, forcible confinement and sexual assault.

A lawyer for Stronach appeared virtually in court on Monday and a publication ban has been issued preventing the names of alleged victims from being reported.

Stronach started Magna in his garage in 1957 and also founded The Stronach Group, a company that specializes in horse racing, and founded Stronach International in 2018, a company focusing on organic foods and “micro-electric mobility.”

Videos

Stronach resigned as Magna’s chairman in 2011 and founded his own political party in his home country of Austria the year after.

The billionaire’s lawyer Brian Greenspan has said that his client denies all allegations against him and plans to “vigorously” defend his reputation, and that Stronach remains presumptively innocent and will respond to the allegations in court.

The case is scheduled to return to court in Brampton on Oct. 7.

– With files from The Canadian Press