Judge in Stronach trial concerned as cross-examination turns to ‘shouting match’

TORONTO — Billionaire businessman Frank Stronach’s sexual assault trial was abruptly adjourned Thursday after the judge expressed concerns over the well-being of one of the complainants and the possibility that the woman’s behaviour on the stand could affect the fairness of the trial.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy recessed court for the day more than an hour early, saying she couldn’t put the complainant “through any more” cross-examination while stressing that defence lawyer Leora Shemesh had done nothing wrong.

“I want to make it very clear Ms. Shemesh has been measured, calm, professional and kind throughout,” Molloy said.

“This is not a situation where (the complainant) was bullied or abused in cross-examination.”

Earlier in the day, the judge warned that she would halt the proceedings if the complainant continued to interrupt others and veer into long tangents while answering questions, though she said — and the lawyers agreed — it did not seem the complainant was acting with intent.

Still, cross-examination had turned into “a shouting match,” leaving the judge “increasingly concerned” that the defence was not getting its right to a meaningful cross-examination, she said in the absence of the complainant.

“I recognize that she is struggling,” but the accused is still entitled to a fair trial, she said.

Molloy, a veteran judge who has presided over multiple high-profile criminal cases, said she had never come across a similar situation in her decades-long career.

Stronach, who became one of Canada’s wealthiest people after founding the auto parts manufacturer Magna International, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges stemming from alleged incidents dating as far back as the 1970s.

Prosecutors have since withdrawn one count of forcible confinement related to this complainant.

The woman, who is the sixth of seven complainants expected to testify in the trial, first took the stand Wednesday, telling the court Stronach raped her in his lakefront condo in 1986 after they met at Rooney’s, the popular midtown venue he owned.

She teared up multiple times as she recounted the events of that night and described the devastating impact the incident had on her life, turning her into a “social recluse” grappling with trauma, anxiety and depression.

Emotion made her testimony unintelligible at times, and both the judge and Crown repeatedly urged her to take breaks and breathe deeply to calm down. Molloy cut the day short by a few minutes when the complainant’s testimony grew too garbled, noting it had been a long day and the woman had reported getting little sleep the previous night.

The woman’s evidence was equally fragmented Thursday as she often spoke over the defence and occasionally made pointed comments as Shemesh questioned her on what she had previously told police and prosecutors.

The defence lawyer suggested the woman lied on multiple occasions, including in telling the court Stronach had tried to pull her close while they were dancing at Rooney’s. There was no mention of that in the woman’s police statement, Shemesh said.

The woman interrupted and continued to talk over Shemesh, prompting the lawyer to turn to the judge. “Your Honour, I can’t ask a question, I just can’t.”

“Yeah, you can’t … I can’t either when you’re attacking me like that,” the woman said in response.

At another point, Shemesh questioned the woman on her “chronology” of what happened inside Stronach’s condo. When the complainant first made a report to police in 2006, she said that while they were sitting on the couch, Stronach dropped his pants and told her he wanted to have sex, court heard.

At that time, the woman did not tell police she had been raped, court heard.

The woman rejected the suggestion that she had lied when speaking to police, saying she had simply not told “the complete truth” out of fear it would affect her job.

She continued, as Shemesh tried to interject with more questions.

“I was up against a very powerful man who could afford to destroy me like he now is, like you’re doing to me right now,” the woman said.

An exchange over whether the woman had read any media coverage of the allegations turned heated after Shemesh challenged the woman’s testimony that she hadn’t read all the articles sent to her by a reporter.

The defence lawyer suggested the woman not only read every piece but also compiled a whole folder of information on Stronach. The woman told police in 2024 she kept “article after article” on Stronach, Shemesh said.

“You know why? Because you were obsessed with him,” she suggested.

After some back and forth, the woman acknowledged that she collected news about Stronach “as the person who did this to me,” not because she cared about him.

“I was obsessed with Frank Stronach? How can you say that?” she fired back. “Maybe you are obsessed, not me.”

The judge intervened repeatedly in an effort to get the woman to answer questions clearly and stop speaking over lawyers.

Before court broke for lunch, Shemesh said that the shouting had escalated to the point where she felt she had to ask each question eight or nine times.

“I think there has to be some obligation to ensure that the complainant is effectively being responsive to the questions that are being posed to her,” the defence lawyer told the court without the complainant present.

Molloy said she wasn’t sure what else she could do.

“It’s awfully difficult on her too,” the judge said.

“This is a spectacle that I am not comfortable being part of. I’m yelling at this woman — and I need to because she won’t stop.”

The trial is not sitting Friday and is expected to resume Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press