Defence lawyer suggests complainant in Stronach trial has ‘tendency to lie’

Frank Stronach, centre, arrives at a Toronto Court on Tuesday February 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

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TORONTO - A woman accusing Frank Stronach of raping her in a hotel suite decades ago has a “tendency to lie” and continues to add new details to her account of the encounter, the businessman’s lawyer suggested Tuesday.

Leora Shemesh pressed the woman, who is the fifth complainant to testify at Stronach’s sexual assault trial, on several details that emerged for the first time in her testimony, including during cross-examination.

One such detail was the fact that the woman was left bleeding vaginally after the encounter, something court heard she had not previously mentioned to police.

When questioned on this Tuesday, the woman said she remembered going to the bathroom in Stronach’s suite, noticing blood and needing to use tissues to stop the bleeding — events she had not included in her initial testimony or in her statements to police.

“I didn’t remember all that (yesterday), I would have said it if I remembered. I remember today,” the woman said Tuesday.

“I’m going to suggest to you ... that if we stay here long enough, you’ll come up with another story,” Shemesh replied.

“Maybe if there’s other details —” the complainant interjected.

“I’m going to suggest to you that the reason why I say that is because you have a tendency to lie,” the defence lawyer continued.

“No, no, I don’t lie,” the woman replied.

At another point, Shemesh questioned the woman about her testimony that Stronach had made a comment about her breasts during the alleged sexual assault, suggesting it was a “new memory” that she had found.

“Do you think maybe you’re creating it in your mind? Do you think you’re maybe relying on some sort of a soap opera to help you formulate particular facts?” the defence lawyer asked.

“No, no, no, I had to live through this nightmare ... I never forgot what happened and the fact that I was raped,” the woman said.

Throughout cross-examination, the woman said she was disclosing details as she remembered them, noting the incident took place nearly 36 years ago.

Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to alleged incidents spanning the 1970s to the 1990s. All seven complainants are expected to testify.

On Monday, the woman said she first met Stronach in the early 1980s because he was dating a friend of hers. The two friends would go to Rooney’s, the restaurant Stronach owned, for a bite and see him there, she said.

The woman didn’t see either of them for some years, then went out to Rooney’s with her friend in the summer of 1990 and ran into Stronach, she said.

Months later, she crossed paths with Stronach at an east-end hotel restaurant, the complainant said. He mentioned that he and the friend had broken up and asked for the woman’s number, which she gave him after some hesitation, she said.

He called her the next day to invite her to lunch at the same restaurant, and they met up a day later, she said.

Not long into their conversation, the woman started crying as she told Stronach about her relationship falling apart, and he suggested they continue upstairs in his suite, she said.

Once upstairs, he started pushing her backward until she ended up on a bed, she said.

The woman broke into tears as she told the court that Stronach started trying to take off her clothes and eventually raped her. She kept saying no and asking him to stop but he only grew more aggressive and forceful, she said.

It hurt and left her bleeding because she had recently given birth, she said, adding she had bruises inside her knees from trying to keep Stronach from prying them apart.

During cross-examination Tuesday, Shemesh suggested the woman “completely made up” that her friend had dated Stronach. The friend was married at the time, and the two women didn’t discuss their personal lives with each other, the defence lawyer suggested.

They didn’t know each other well, the woman agreed. “All I know is she had this boyfriend, Frank Stronach, he was in the mix because of him being with her,” she said.

Later, Shemesh suggested the woman was upset that Stronach didn’t contact her after the alleged sexual assault because she was hurt he wasn’t interested in her romantically.

The woman told police she had felt a “spark” when they ran into each other at the hotel restaurant, and that she was looking to move on from her ex, court heard.

“I’m going to suggest to you what you were really upset about is that you didn’t get the relationship or the love that you were looking for,” Shemesh said.

“No, I was devastated and upset about what he did to me. He violated me,” the woman replied.

On Monday, Shemesh said the woman had told police at various points that she first met Stronach in the 1970s, that she first met her friend and Stronach in 1988, and that the alleged sexual assault took place in 1980.

As well, the defence lawyer said, the woman had never before mentioned seeing Stronach at Rooney’s in the summer of 1990, much less any details of that encounter. Rooney’s closed in 1988, she added.

The woman said there was some confusion over the dates, and that while she may have been mistaken about the name of the restaurant, she had gone out with her friend in the summer of 1990 and run into Stronach.

The trial continues Wednesday, with the sixth complainant expected to take the stand.

By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2026.

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.

The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.

• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
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• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
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• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)

Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]

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