Man, those Canadian judges are tough! He got double secret probation…that’ll teach him!
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A York University PhD student convicted of raping another PhD student has been sentenced to the maximum 18 months imprisonment, three years probation and ordered to pay $8,000 of his victim’s legal bills.
Justice Marvin Zuker also ordered Mustafa Ururyar to perform 240 hours of community service as he sentenced him Wednesday.
In July, Zuker made headlines for debunking myths about rape stereotypes while he found Ururyar, 29, guilty of sexual assault for raping Mandi Gray and forcing her to perform oral sex in his apartment in the early hours of Jan. 31, 2015.
“Rape is the ultimate violation of self, short of murder, except it can mean the murder of the soul,” Zuker said.
Ururyar, who is maintaining his innocence and testified the sex was consensual, will be seeking his freedom Thursday by trying to obtain bail pending appeal of both the conviction and sentence.
Crown attorney Jennifer Lofft said Gray took a “striking, groundbreaking” approach to the victim impact statement she madeWednesday.
“I have no interest in sharing the emotional, physical or psychological impact of being raped (as I expect you) and your lawyer to minimize my claims because I do not want to go into detail,” Gray wrote.
Afterwards, Gray told reporters: “I feel validated by Justice Zuker, but it’s not over.
“I’m looking at another few years of my life in court. The appeal could result in another trial and I couldn’t imagine going through trial after this one went on for so long.
“When I read the pre-sentence report that recommended Ururyar shouldn’t be alone with an intoxicated woman, that sent huge red flags, given his complete lack of empathy and remorse for his actions,” she said.
The 28-year-old woman, who waived the publication ban on her name, says she has received death threats and rape threats.
Those threats from social media “trolls” prompted her decision not to reveal any more personal information, Gray said.
“I don’t need them to know anything more about me.”
Ururyar’s lawyer, Lisa Bristow, asked for a conditional discharge or a 12- to 18-month conditional sentence for a first offender.
She said she was disappointed with the outcome and strongly believed the appeal had “merit.”
WHAT THE JUDGE SAID
Justice Marvin Zuker spoke Wednesday of rape myths that engulf our society and the vital role of tough sentences to deter the “heinous crime.”
“Rape is a heinous crime, perhaps second only to murder in terms of moral depravity, severity and irrevocability,” he said.
Rapists aren’t restricted to “strangers wielding weapons in dark alleys,” the judge noted. “To the contrary, as we have seen here, most victims know their attackers, no weapons are used, and alcohol and drugs are involved.
“We tend to look at victims and hold them responsible.”
No one is safe from sexual assault, yet few want to discuss sexual violence, Zuker said.
Sexual assault is a crime that invades “every sector of our society. Children are molested by family members, college students are date-raped and the elderly are attacked in their homes,” he said, adding it “knows no gender, geographic location, race ethnicity or sexual orientation.
“None of us is immune, but all of us are responsible to end it.
“The ‘perfect victim’ is a deceptive myth that, while perpetrated by the media and society at large, serves no use in the real world for helping victim and holding offenders accountable.”
“We are all planks in a bridge. It’s not like running a race. We don’t take a baton and pass it off with the victim. We must all work together to get the victim from where they are to where they need to be.”
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