Automotive billionaire Frank Stronach, 91, has been arrested once again and now faces even more charges of sexual assault and rape.
Stronach, founder of auto parts giant Magna, was accused earlier this month of sexually assaulting victims from the 1980s until 2023.
He was later charged with five criminal offenses including rape, sexual assault, indecent assault on a female and forcible confinement.
But on Wednesday, Peel Regional Police said they “have identified additional victims” and charged him with eight more counts of sexual assault.
These include six counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted rape and one count of indecently assaulting a female. reports the Toronto Star.
Automotive billionaire Frank Stronach, 91, has been arrested and charged with more counts of sexual assault and rape.
Peel Regional Police Constable Tyler Bell previously noted there were several accusers, but declined to specify how large the number was.
‘Obviously, this is a high-profile case. “Our special victims unit is obligated to protect victims and in doing so, that’s why we are being lazy,” Bell said.
“There is more than one victim but we have not yet confirmed the number,” he added.
It is still unclear how many additional victims may have come forward to accuse Stronach of sexual assault since his June 7 arrest.
But an alleged victim reportedly contacted police just hours after the first charges were announced, according to a source familiar with the investigation. he told CBC.
Another woman, author Jane Boon, also stated in an opinion article that Stronach had sexual relations with her when she was just 19 years old and he was 54.
She wrote that the Austrian-Canadian businessman interviewed her when she was a high school student and selected her for a scholarship to GMI (now Kettering University) in Flint, Michigan, to study engineering.
Frank pictured with his daughter Belinda Stronach and his wife Elfriede, who passed away earlier this year.
While at school in 1986, she claimed she attended Magna’s annual shareholders meeting and was invited to an after-party at Stronach’s Rooney’s restaurant in Toronto.
Toward the end of the dinner, Boon said Stronach insisted on taking her to Magna’s corporate guesthouse in Ontario and they had sex.
Boon has not complained to police about the incident.according to the Globe and Mailbut she said she now feels uncomfortable about the encounter.
“At the time I thought it was consensual,” he wrote. “But if it wasn’t rape, it certainly wasn’t right.”
Stronach was due to appear in Ontario court on July 8 before the new charges were levied. It is unclear if that hearing date will remain in effect.
Meanwhile, his lawyer, Brian Greenspan – whose previous notable clients included Naomi Campbell and Justin Bieber – says the auto parts magnate denies the allegations “and will vigorously defend these unproven allegations dating back to 1977.”
He noted that Stronach “has spent his life committed to the betterment of the Canadian community and industry” and said he now “plans to continue devoting his energy and resources to his work advocating for the adoption of a Canadian Economic Charter of Rights to benefit workers, small businesses, family farmers and the Canadian economy.”
Stronach (pictured with the late Queen) is
Stronach “has spent his entire life committed to the betterment of the Canadian community and industry,” according to his lawyer.
Born in Austria in 1932, Stronach grew up under Nazi rule before moving to Canada in the mid-1950s.
In 1957, the businessman launched Magna in his garage and, over the years, built it into one of the largest suppliers of automotive parts in the world.
The company now has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion.
But in a statement, a company spokesperson said, “Stronach has had no affiliation with Magna since relinquishing control in 2010.”
He added that company executives “were not aware of the investigation or the allegations that had been raised beyond what was reported in the media.”
Some of the entrepreneur’s other business ventures included the creation of The Stronach Group, a company specializing in horse racing.
In 2013, the auto parts magnate returned to Austria, where he entered politics by founding and leading a right-wing populist political party called Team Stronach for Austria.
Two months later, Stronach returned to Canada, where he received the Order of Canada, one of the country’s most prestigious honors.
Belinda Stronach eventually countersued her father, saying he had lost a huge amount of money on his pet projects (pictured with daughter Belinda).
In 2018, the billionaire sued his daughter Belinda, his two grandchildren and his former business partner Alon Ossip for more than half a billion dollars in Ontario Superior Court.
Stronach alleged that they had mismanaged the family’s assets, whose control he wanted to regain.
Belinda, a former member of the Canadian Parliament and CEO of Magna, countersued her father, saying she had lost a huge amount of money on pet projects.
The case was finally resolved. Stronach’s wife, Elfriede, died aged 80 in March this year after battling illness.