Complainant cross-examination continues in Frank Stronach’s sex assault trial

TORONTO — A defence lawyer representing businessman Frank Stronach in his Toronto sexual assault trial is suggesting a complainant’s narrative of what happened has evolved with time.

Leora Shemesh is continuing to cross-examine the first of seven complainants expected to testify in the trial, which began Thursday after more than a week of delay.

The complainant, who was in her early 20s at the time of the alleged incidents, says that while her memory on the timing or logistics of certain events may have changed or faded, she clearly remembers Stronach sexually assaulting her on a dance floor and then raping her later that night.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges related to seven complainants for incidents that allegedly took place from the late 1970s to the 1990s.

On the stand Thursday, the complainant said she was “terrified” decades ago when she woke up in a bed in an unknown place and realized she was being raped.

The woman said she didn’t consent to sex with Stronach after running into him at his Toronto restaurant, and didn’t know how she ended up in the bed that night in the early 1980s.

The complainant, who is now in her 60s and cannot be identified under a standard publication ban, also alleged Stronach penetrated her with his fingers on the dance floor earlier that night.

Stronach was charged in 2024. His judge-alone trial was initially scheduled to begin early last week but the defence asked for more time to prepare after receiving what it described as a large volume of disclosure “at the 11th hour.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.

The Canadian Press