Opinion | As a rape survivor, Stronach’s lack of prison time doesn’t outrage me - Toronto Star

An apology is often the one thing survivors want most and the one thing offenders almost never give.

Frank Stronach arrives at the Superior Court of Justice to receive his sentence for a 1977 indecent assault on Thursday.

Anne Marie Aikins is a former chief spokesperson for public agencies and now is a media consultant with the PR firm Curious Public. 

Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach will not serve jail time for his conviction of indecent assault. Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy said as much ahead of his sentencing, expected in December.

Molloy hasn’t yet decided the exact penalty, but she made it clear that the 94‑year‑old, convicted sex offender will not be going to prison. Outrage followed immediately.

I expected to feel really pissed off too. As someone who was raped more than 40 years ago, I thought I’d be swept back into that familiar sense of betrayal. But I didn’t feel anger. Not this time.

After my assault, I spent a decade working with hundreds of survivors. If there’s one truth held across every story, every woman, every life cracked open by violence, it’s this: there is no single way to react, no single way to heal and no single thing that constitutes justice. What survivors need to move forward is deeply personal, shaped by their own lived experience.

When my assailant — a 35‑year‑old man — was sentenced to prison time, I felt grateful he couldn’t hurt anyone else. But it didn’t make me feel safe. It didn’t make him understand what he’d done. It didn’t help me heal. The only thing jail time changed was that every parole hearing dragged me back to the day he raped me.

Stronach’s case, like so many others, is complicated by time. The Crown asked for six months in jail for an indecent assault committed nearly 50 years ago. He had originally faced 12 charges involving seven women. In the end, Justice Molloy was left with one conviction of indecent assault to consider in sentencing.

His lawyer argued he’d already suffered enough — his name stripped from buildings, his reputation “dragged through the mud.” Media reported that Stronach’s victim hoped for an apology, some recognition of the harm he’d caused, a wish I heard from so many women over the years. An apology is often the one thing survivors want most and the one thing offenders almost never give.

Sentences for historical indecent assault vary widely. Many — maybe most — do not result in jail time. But few of us are paying attention unless the guy is famous.

A 2025 report from the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime found that survivors of sexual violence are “systemically betrayed by the criminal justice system.” The harm is so well‑known that police and Crown attorneys regularly caution survivors against reporting, the report claimed.

That’s the system we’re dealing with. A system survivors enter with low expectations because experience has taught them to expect very little.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel outrage at Justice Molloy’s comments. She is known for courageous decisions and I believe she spoke very honestly. A 94‑year‑old man would not survive in prison. And let’s be honest — our prisons barely manage humane conditions for young men, let alone frail elderly ones.

Stronach’s words to reporters as he left the courtroom told us everything: “Justice will prevail.” Offenders rarely gain insight from their convictions. They rarely understand the harm. They rarely change.

Would jail time deter other offenders? Unlikely. Would it rehabilitate Stronach? No. Would it denounce the harm he caused? To a degree.

But sentencing is not a referendum on our feelings. Justice Molloy must weigh legal principles most people never see, let alone understand. That’s why controversial sentences so often spark public outrage. We react to the emotional truth of harm, while judges are bound to the legal truth of precedent, evidence and proportionality.

I don’t feel betrayed, surprised or disappointed this time. The justice system was never built to deliver healing. Survivors have always known that. And while Stronach’s victim deserved better — as all survivors do — prison was never going to give her what she needed most.

Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.

There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.

You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Anne Marie Aikins is a former chief spokesperson for public agencies and now is a media consultant with the PR firm Curious Public. 

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details