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Canadian auto parts magnate faces more sexual assault charges
Economy

Canadian auto parts magnate faces more sexual assault charges

by  AFP 2 min read
Austrian-Canadian businessman Frank Stronach, seen here at an election event in 2012 in Vienna, faces 18 charges of sexual assault involving 13 women in Canada
Austrian-Canadian businessman Frank Stronach, seen here at an election event in 2012 in Vienna, faces 18 charges of sexual assault involving 13 women in Canada. Photo: ALEXANDER KLEIN / AFP/File
Source: AFP

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Three more women have come forward with sexual assault accusations against Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna International, one of the world's largest auto parts companies, court records showed Thursday.

That brings to 13 the number of women accusing the 92-year-old of crimes including attempted rape, sexual assault and forcible confinement from 1977 to February of this year. He now faces 18 charges.

Stronach, whose case is scheduled to return to court on Monday, has in interviews with Canadian media and through his lawyer denied the allegations.

He was first arrested in June and released.

Since then, his granddaughter Selena -- as part of a feud over the family fortune -- sought to compel the Stronach Group to disclose any documents related to sexual misconduct complaints levelled at him.

A judge dismissed the motion.

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This week, however, Magna International reportedly launched an internal investigation into its founder's history at the company dating back to the 1950s in response to the sexual assault allegations.

Stronach, an Austrian-born rags-to-riches immigrant, grew a small Canadian tool and die company into one of the world's largest automotive parts manufacturers, Magna International.

At age 80, he ceded control of Magna and returned to his native Austria to run for public office, but returned to Canada a few years later after support dissipated.

One of his accusers, a former horse groomer at Stronach's stables in Aurora, Ontario where the auto parts company he founded is based, was 20 years old in 1980 when she alleges that he sexually assaulted her.

After being plied with alcohol at a Toronto bar that he owned, she woke up in a strange apartment with Stronach on top of her, she said. "It was rape," she told public broadcaster CBC.

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Stronach called the allegations "a lie," and suggested his accusers are seeking a financial payout.

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Source: AFP

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