WARNING: This story references sexual assault allegations and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
The women who testified they were sexually assaulted by Frank Stronach all failed “quite miserably” on credibility and reliability, meaning the court should find the Canadian businessman not guilty, his lawyer argued on Tuesday.
In her closing submission, defence lawyer Leora Shemesh said the overall sexual assault case against her client has been built on “fabricated, disingenuous and unreliable evidence” and plagued by a “reckless investigation by police.”
She began her closing submission by telling the court her client had been labelled a villain and publicly prosecuted before the trial even began.
She said the police investigators had “tunnel vision.” That they did not even consider the possibility the complainants could be lying not only revealed their bias but confirmed they had set their sights on Stronach, she said.
Shemesh also took aim at the “politics of the women’s movement,” which she said has given rise to a tendency to not challenge women’s allegations of sexual assault, something she said has no place in the criminal justice system.
When his trial began in February, Stronach faced 12 counts related to seven female complainants, whose allegations included sexual assault and the historical charges of rape and attempted rape.
Now, with all the evidence heard, those charges have been whittled down to seven — related to four of the initial seven complainants.
The allegations against Stronach date back almost 50 years, spanning the period between 1977 and 1990. Two of the counts, rape and attempted rape, were considered historical charges, as they were abolished when the Criminal Code was amended in 1983 to create the offence of sexual assault.
All of the initial seven complainants testified in court, offering an emotional account of the sexual offences they say they experienced at the hands of Stronach.
Stronach, who was in court every day but never took the witness box in his own defence, has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The judge-alone trial is being overseen by Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy.
The Canadian billionaire sex assault trial, explained
Many of the women told similar stories — meeting Stronach at Rooney’s, the Toronto restaurant he used to own, and then accepting an invitation back to his Harbourfront condo. It’s there that they allege he sexually assaulted them.
Two of the seven complainants alleged they were attacked in other locations — one woman claimed Stronach raped her in a hotel, while another said he attempted to rape her in a midtown Toronto apartment.
Shemesh went through each remaining complainant, accusing some of being liars and frauds, while alleging some had perjured themselves with their testimony.
Shemesh had previously suggested to court that details they initially provided about their alleged assaults had either changed once they came to court or that new details had emerged.
She also had challenged complainants over specific details, including potential inconsistencies relating to the dates of when some of the assaults were alleged to have occurred. She accused some of the complainants of outright lying, while suggesting to some others that the sexual acts they described were consensual.
The closing submissions continue Tuesday.
