Why the judge found Stronach guilty on two charges

At the end of her 83-page decision, Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy noted that "this was a long and emotionally charged trial."

The trial of Frank Stronach began four months ago, culminating Friday with the Canadian businessman being found guilty on two counts: one for sexual assault and another for indecent assault related to two separate women.

The 93-year-old founder of auto-parts giant Magna International had been facing five counts related to three female complainants. 

One complainant said that Stronach had groped her in his Toronto Harbourfront condo sometime in 1983 or 1984. The woman said she had gone to meet him for dinner to discuss why she had been fired as a waitress at his restaurant, Rooney's. She said Stronach invited her to his condo, which is where he groped her.

Molloy said she found her to be a "compelling, believable and truthful witness" and was "completely convinced" by her evidence that Stronach groped her body.

But Molloy did note that it is "with considerable trepidation that I use the word minor as a modifier of sexual assault." She said his conduct was at the "low end" of the spectrum of sexual assault, but it still constituted sexual assault.

Another complainant told the court that Stronach had invited her to a midtown Toronto apartment sometime in the fall of 1977, and while there he bent her over the arm of a chair, lifted up her skirt and tried to rape her.

Molloy agreed that much of what the witness described had happened, but also agreed with the Crown's decision to withdraw the attempted rape charge because it was unclear the state of dress of Stronach and the complainant or whether it would have been possible for him to penetrate her through her panties.

Still, Molloy referred to it as "gross and disgusting conduct," which is why she found him guilty of indecent assault.

Stronach also faced sexual assault charges related to another complainant, the last woman to testify, who alleged that Stronach raped her in his Toronto condo, sometime in the early 1980s. She told court she had agreed to go back to his condo following dinner with him at a nearby restaurant.

Molloy, however, said her testimony was "fraught with difficulty." She said the most serious problem with the complainant's evidence is whether her memory of those events from more than 40 years ago was reliable.

She said she couldn’t discern beyond a reasonable doubt whether there was consent. Molloy said it was possible Stronach forcibly had vaginal intercourse with her knowing she was not consenting, but it was also possible nothing happened without her consent and that she felt demeaned. Molloy said it's also possible she went along with everything Stronach did.

"I cannot tell," Molloy wrote, finding Stronach not guilty on counts related to that complainant.

Following the ruling, Stronach's lawyer Leora Shemesh said that she was happy that her client was found not guilty on the majority of the charges and that he was found guilty on what she said were the least serious offences.

Stronach, his defence team, Crown prosecutors and Molloy will reconvene in court on Sept. 17 for a sentencing hearing.