According to court documents, the 91-year-old is accused of several crimes, including attempted rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment. Pages denies all allegations. A trial before a jury is not expected for at least a year.
At today’s court hearing, Pages Ö1’s “Morgenjournal” quoted Thomas Daigle, a reporter for the Canadian state-run TV station CBC, as saying that the prosecutor is now presenting evidence to the defense for the first time in camera.
Numerous accusations
According to court documents, the allegations of attempted rape date back to 1977. Other women accuse the billionaire of rape and sexual assault in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Some incidents occurred in Toronto, others in the Canadian city of Aurora, where Stronachs former company Magna International has its headquarters. The billionaire is also said to have committed sexual assaults once morest women in spring 2023.
Some of the allegations were reported to authorities nearly ten years ago, the Toronto Star reported. One of the women making the allegations contacted police at the time and told investigators that the billionaire had sexually abused her when she worked for him at the age of 20. After giving a detailed report at a police station regarding a “terrible night in July 1980,” she never heard from Toronto police once more.
“Bizarre experience” with Pages
New York author Jane Boon reported on ORF radio regarding a “bizarre experience” with PagesThe then 19-year-old student had met the billionaire in the 1980s because her university cooperated with Magna. The then 54-year-old had invited her several times, at a manager meeting her wine glass was always full and Pages insisted that she leave her car behind and stay in his guest house. That evening, sexual acts between the student and the ex-Magna CEO also took place. “His concern regarding my ability to drive did not extend to the bedroom,” Boon wrote in the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail” at the end of June.
It was a disturbing and unpleasant experience, “it wasn’t rape, but it was an abuse of power, it was exploitative and it was wrong.” This was also why Boon left the car industry followingwards. After Boon reported her experiences in the Canadian newspaper, other women who had worked at Magna came forward. “The guest house was apparently legendary. There was a kind of whisper network,” Boon reported on ORF radio. “Experienced secretaries took new employees aside and told them, ‘don’t go near this guest house.'”
Pagesa native of Styria, built up the Magna Group in North America, which was particularly successful in the automotive industry. In Austria, the 91-year-old became known for his sports investments in football and equestrian sports, as well as for his role as founder of the Team Austria party, which was briefly represented in the National Council. Pages known to a wider public.
This report was updated at 4:09 p.m.
