York University graduate student convicted of sexual assault will remain in jail

By News Staff

The man convicted of sexually assaulting a fellow York University graduate student will remain in jail until his sentencing hearing, a judge ruled Monday.

Mustafa Ururyar was convicted last week of assaulting Mandi Gray.

Ontario Court Justice Marvin Zuker said by allowing Ururyar out on bail, “We are accommodating him. Did he accommodate Mandi Gray? I don’t think so.”

Ururyar’s mother had asked the he be freed and allowed to travel to Vancouver to work at her hair salon.

Zuker countered that he would take “judicial notice that this rape” will affect Gray for the rest of her life, and “he wants to go to Vancouver?”

The Crown is seeking at 12 to 18 month jail term. The defense is arguing that Ururyar should be sentenced to time served.

Gray tweeted that she felt “sadness” about Monday’s ruling.

Gray has waived her right to a publication ban her name. That, and last week’s ruling that directly addressed rape culture, made headlines.

“Rape it was,” Zuker said.

Consent means agreeing to what a person does, when they do it and the way in which they do it, Zuker told the court.

“Behavioural stereotypes should not impact the way we (perceive) the complainant,” he added, saying relationships or texts between an accused and accuser, delays in reporting sexual assaults or the absence of physical resistance during an assault cannot be taken as evidence of consent.

Gray has also launched a human-rights complaint against York, alleging the school’s sexual assault policy discriminates against women, who are most often victims. She said the policy lacks specific procedures for reporting assaults, forcing her to repeat her story to 12 staff members.

She was also critical of Toronto police, saying officers refused to interview witnesses and that one detective called her “on numerous occasions, trying to convince me to withdraw my statement.”


Related stories:

‘Rape it was’: Guilty verdict in York U sex assault case

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaults

Canadian universities dragging heels on sexual assault policies: students


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