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The start of the first sex assault trial for billionaire businessman Frank Stronach has stalled as his lawyer argues in Toronto court that some of the complainants may have been coached during preparatory meetings with the Crown.
Justice Anne Molloy granted a request by defence lawyer Leora Shemesh to question a police officer in court Thursday about the notes he took in some of those preparatory meetings.
This comes after the trial, which was originally slated to start Tuesday in the downtown Ontario Court of Justice, was delayed on the defence’s request in order to examine new disclosures that Shemesh says came in at the “eleventh hour.”
Shemesh told court Thursday that from 2024 to 2026, there were no revelations of anything new that complainants may have remembered. However, the lawyer added, from Jan. 13 to 28, new statements emerged from all of the complainants.
Some of the new statements refer to pieces of evidence that were never referred to before, Shemesh said.
“The thrust of my argument is that following a preparatory meeting, a statement arrives,” she said.
Shemesh said it was frustrating receiving those statements because she and her team had to review them last minute.
“This was extraordinary because we got so much at the eleventh hour.”
Shemesh contended that receiving those statements was not just some coincidental act where they suddenly came up with new evidence.
“There is an available inference that a witness may have been coached.”
Molloy gave Shemesh the go-ahead to question Peel regional police officer Gabe Di Nardo, who began facing questioning just before the lunch break at 1 p.m. ET.
Shemesh said she plans to apply for a stay of proceedings at the end of the trial out of concerns that abuse of process may have occurred in relation to the alleged coaching of witnesses.
2nd trial expected later this year
The 93-year-old is accused of sexual offences against several women, with some of the allegations dating back nearly 50 years.
Stronach, founder of auto-parts giant Magna International, faces 12 charges, including sexual assault and forcible confinement. Two of the counts, rape and attempted rape, are considered historical charges as they were abolished when the Criminal Code was amended in 1983 to create the offence of sexual assault.
The allegations by seven complainants span the period between 1977 and 1990 in Toronto, one specified as having happened in suburban Scarborough.
He’s also set to face a separate trial in Newmarket later this year after the case was split into two proceedings. In the Newmarket proceedings, Stronach will face six sexual assault charges involving six complainants.
Stronach has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
For the Toronto proceedings, four weeks have been set aside. Initially, Stronach chose a trial by jury, then switched to one with a judge alone, meaning Molloy will hear the case without a jury and eventually decide his fate.