1 of 2 | Canadian police charged auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach with rape, assault and forcible confinement, after allegations dating back to the 1980s and running up until last year. Photo courtesy of Team Stronach
June 8 (UPI) — Canadian police charged Frank Stronach, an auto parts tycoon and former thoroughred owner/breeder, with rape, assault and forcible confinement, after allegations dating back to the 1980s and running up until last year.
The 91-year-old founder of auto parts maker Magna International was released on bail after being arrested Friday.
“Frank Stronach was arrested and charged with five criminal offences, rape, indecent assault on a female, sexual assault x2 and forcible confinement. He has been released on conditions and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date,” Peel Regional Police said in a media release issued Friday.
“Police are appealing to members of the public to come forward if they have any relevant information.”
The alleged assaults are reported to have taken place in Aurora, a suburban community north of Toronto, Ontario.
Stronach has retained prominent Canadian defense attorney Brian Greenspan
“Mr. Stronach categorically denies the allegations of impropriety which have been brought against him,” Greenspan said in a statement Friday.
“He looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the charges and to maintain his legacy, both as a philanthropist and as an icon of the Canadian business community.”
Stronach’s next court date is scheduled for July 8.
The Austria-born Stronach was awarded the Order of Canada in 1999.
He founded Magna in Aurora, Ontario in 1957 but has had no affiliation with the auto parts giant since giving up control in 2010.
He later waged a public battle with daughter Belinda Stronach, a former Canadian member of Parliament and minister of Employment. The two were at odds over control of the family fortune and privately-held Stronach Group, which has dealings in real estate, entertainment and thoroughbred horse racing.
The family has a long history in the horse racing world.
Stronach founded Adena Springs, an international racing and breeding operation. He earned the Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Breeder eight times and Outstanding Owner four times. Five of his horses received Eclipse Awards.
He received the Eclipse Award of Merit, considered the sport’s highest honor, in 2018.
Stronach is the former head of the Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness Stakes.
In 2012 he launched the far-right populist Team Stronach party in a bid to be elected to the Austrian Prime Minister’s office but came up short in the 2013 election with the party dissolving in 2017.
