A judge has declared a mistrial on Frank Stronach’s sexual assault conviction in a rare post-verdict ruling, the billionaire businessman’s lawyer said Friday.
The 93-year-old was found guilty last month of sexual assault and the historical offence of indecent assault related to separate allegations brought by two of the complainants in his trial.
Lawyer Leora Shemesh said a mistrial on the sexual assault conviction was granted on Friday after she presented emails in court from the woman’s lawyer in a separate civil complaint. She alleged those emails told a story inconsistent with the woman’s testimony in the criminal trial.
In an interview, Shemesh called the decision to declare a mistrial after a conviction “incredibly rare.”
The Canadian Press has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for comment.
Stronach initially faced a dozen charges stemming from allegations between the late 1970s and 1990s and involving seven complainants. His trial started in February but by the time arguments wrapped in April, prosecutors had withdrawn one charge and agreed Stronach should be found not guilty on four more.
That left Stronach with five charges related to three complainants before he was convicted on two of the counts.
He is now expected to be sentenced in September on the remaining indecent assault conviction.
