Rape a ‘weapon of war,’ judge says in York U sex assault sentencing

By News staff

A man who sexually assaulted a fellow York University graduate student last year was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 months in jail and three years’ probation.

In July, Mustafa Ururyar was convicted of forcing Mandi Gray, a PhD student with whom he was having a casual relationship, to perform oral sex and engage in sexual intercourse in the early hours of Jan. 31, 2015. She waived her right to a publication ban on her name.

Ontario Court Judge Marvin Zuker ordered Ururyar to also serve 240 hours of community service and to pay $8,000 to Gray as part of a restitution order. The Crown had asked for the $10,000 that Gray spent on therapy.

In delivering his sentence, Zuker said “Ururyar made Gray a victim, but more importantly, he has made her a survivor.”

Zuker said the rape — which he described as heinous crime, perhaps second only to murder — happened in Ururyar’s home, a place Gray would expect to be safe.

“Rape is perpetrated as a weapon of war,” Zuker said.

Ururyar appeared in court for the sentencing hearing. Gray provided a victim impact statement, but did not read it in court.

Crown attorney Jennifer Lofft described Gray’s victim impact statement as “groundbreaking” in that it spoke of the public’s safety, the financial costs and not her personal victimization.

Lofft argued against a conditional sentence, characterizing the offence as a “major sexual assault.” In her sentencing submissions, she said Ururyar should be punished for his disregard of the person he assaulted.

“Sexual assault is not accidental. The consequences have to stop others from unlawful conduct,” she said.

She said the sexual assault was a violation of trust because, as Gray testified during the trial, she went with Ururyar that night “because they had a friendship” and “she thought she would be safe there.”


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Bristow had asked for a non-custodial sentence for Ururyar, saying he would not pose a risk if he were to serve his sentence in the community. She also submitted letters of support from his family and girlfriend.

However, Zuker said Ururyar’s version of events lack credibility and he would not accept that he won’t be a danger to society.

The judge argued a non-custodial sentence was not an option because it “undermines the respect for the law.” He said that when you harm a complainant, you harm a community.

During the trial, Ururyar testified that he and Gray had engaged in consensual sex that night. He said Gray had been sexually aggressive the entire night, groping him and initiating sex even after Ururyar tried to break up with her.

However, Zuker described Ururyar’s version of the evening as an “obscene fabrication” and said Ururyar raped Gray. “Rape it was,” he said.

The following week, Zuker revoked Ururyar’s bail and ordered him to remain in jail until his sentencing hearing. Zuker said by allowing Ururyar out on bail, “We are accommodating him. Did he accommodate Mandi Gray? I don’t think so.”

The judge’s guilty ruling directly addressed rape culture and made headlines. 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.

At the Old City Hall courthouse after the verdict was delivered, Gray had said she was surprised by the judgment.

“I think that it is a huge victory in many, many ways in [that] I was believed,” she said. “It’s really sad that the legal system is quite literally doing what it’s supposed to and we’re all shocked. I think that says a lot.”

With files from Marianne Boucher and The Canadian Press

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