The Crown is challenging a unique mistrial ruling in the sexual assault case of Frank Stronach following his conviction last month. The wealthy entrepreneur was convicted of sexual assault and indecent assault in June, stemming from accusations made by two women in Toronto. However, a mistrial was declared on the sexual assault charge by Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy after the introduction of emails from the woman’s civil case lawyer, which contradicted her testimony in the criminal trial according to Stronach’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh.
The Crown has filed an appeal, claiming that Justice Molloy made errors in assuming solicitor-client privilege on the emails without exploring potential exceptions and in stating that she couldn’t resolve the credibility issues raised by the mistrial application. The Crown is seeking to reinstate the guilty verdict on the sexual assault charge and have the case returned to the Superior Court for sentencing.
Initially facing a dozen charges dating back to the late 1970s to 1990s involving seven complainants, Stronach had one charge withdrawn and was found not guilty on four others by the time his trial concluded in April. The judge ruled out two charges based on the unreliability of a complainant’s evidence, leading to Stronach being convicted on two counts related to three complainants. His sentencing for the indecent assault conviction is scheduled for September.