Canadian Auto Parts Billionaire Faces Sexual Assault Charges

Frank Stronach, the 91-year-old billionaire founder of one of the world’s largest auto parts companies, was arrested and charged on Friday in connection with a sexual assault investigation.

In a brief news release, the police force for Peel Region, outside Toronto, said that the time frame of crimes Mr. Stronach was alleged to have committed spanned from the 1980s until last year.

Mr. Stronach, the Austrian-born founder of Magna International, was charged with offenses that includedindecent assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement. He was released after being charged and will appear later at a court in Brampton, Ontario.

Brian Greenspan, Mr. Stronach’s lawyer, said that his client “categorically denies the allegations of impropriety which have been brought against him.”

He added: “He looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the charges and to maintain his legacy, both as a philanthropist and as an icon of the Canadian business community.”

Mr. Stronach turned a one-man machine shop he founded in 1957 into a global enterprise. Under his management, Magna, which also assembles vehicles for several automakers including Mercedes-Benz, tried to take over both Chrysler and Opel, the European arm of General Motors.