Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach will not go to jail for indecent assault, Ontario judge says

Frank Stronach will not go to prison for the indecent assault he was convicted of in June, an Ontario judge said on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Justice Anne Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court told the sentencing hearing that she had not settled on a sentence but was very firmly settled that it would not include jail, and that she would not send a 94-year-old to prison in the circumstances of the case. She returns on Dec. 11 to deliver the decision.

The offence took place in Stronach's apartment nearly fifty years ago.

Prosecutors had asked for six months in custody and an order placing him on Canada's national sex offender registry for ten years. Asked by the judge what a reasonable alternative would be, assistant Crown attorney Jelena Vlacic proposed six months of house arrest, with exceptions for medical appointments and court attendance.

His lawyer Leora Shemesh asked for an absolute discharge and no registry order.

The arguments over what should count in his favour are the notable part of the hearing.

Molloy cited his lack of a criminal record before the offence and his position as a high-profile business leader who for decades represented one of Canada's biggest success stories among the mitigating factors.

Shemesh argued the Crown's position was excessive and that imprisoning her client would do absolutely nothing for society. She described the offence as the least serious on the spectrum, noting that no body parts were exposed, there was no skin contact and no attempt to stop the complainant leaving, and said Stronach had otherwise led an unblemished life of accomplishment and philanthropy while enduring a punitive prosecution in the final chapters of it.

She also pointed to what the case has already cost him. His name and reputation have been dragged through the mud in media, television, print and social media, she said, and his name has been removed from parks, hospital wings and other facilities.

Vlacic told the court that character references from former employees who said they never saw him behave inappropriately toward women should carry limited weight. It is not mitigating that he did not engage in inappropriate conduct in public view of many witnesses, she said, because sexual offences usually happen in private.

Indecent assault was a separate offence when the incident occurred, carrying up to five years, and was folded into sexual assault when that charge was created in 1983.

The case around it is unresolved in several directions.

Stronach was found guilty in June of both indecent assault and sexual assault, on allegations brought by two different women. Molloy granted a rare post-verdict mistrial on the sexual assault conviction weeks later, after emails from the complainant's lawyer in a separate civil case were produced in court and the defence argued they were inconsistent with her testimony. Shemesh said at the time that the court did not hear from the complainant before the decision.

The Crown is appealing, seeking to restore that verdict and return the matter for sentencing.

He faces a jury trial in Newmarket next year on a separate sexual assault case involving six complainants. Stronach originally faced 18 counts involving 13 complainants across Ontario, told CBC's The Fifth Estate the allegations against him were lies, and has pleaded not guilty throughout.

He founded Magna International, built it into one of the largest auto parts manufacturers in the world, and runs the Stronach Group, which owns thoroughbred racetracks including Santa Anita Park in California.