The Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld the conviction of a man accused of videotaping a sexual assault in Sudbury, Ont. — and then threatening to send photos and videos of the assault to her family after she refused further contact with him. It also imposed a jail sentence after the trial judge gave him a conditional sentence. The case dates to 2019, when the victim came to Canada from Iran to attend university. She connected with another Iranian national, Yasser Ghoreishi, a man already in Canada attending Laurentian University. “The complainant contacted Mr. Ghoreishi to see if he could assist in guiding her through the university admissions process,” the appeals court decision said. Became ‘somewhat of a mentor’ “Mr. Ghoreishi became somewhat of a mentor to her, providing her with advice and assisting her with her transition to life in Canada.” In early 2020, she visited Laurentian to help her decide whether to apply for admission. Ghoreishi showed her around campus and also suggested she meet a man he knew — identified in the court documents as ‘S.M.’ — whom he described as a “potential marriage candidate.” “The complainant testified that it was common in Iranian culture for older people like Mr. Ghoreishi to make introductions for the purpose of getting married,” the court decision said. Ghoreishi stayed with her at a hotel while she was in Sudbury for several days. They had sex the night before she left. “The complainant testified that the sex was non-consensual and that Mr. Ghoreishi also took a video of her during sex without her consent,” the court said. “However, she remained in touch with him following this incident. They agreed to forget about it.” Imposed restrictions She met S.M. in March 2020, but Ghoreishi imposed several restrictions on the relationship, including that the two not have sex, that the woman spend nights away from S.M. and with Ghoreishi and that S.M. keep the relationship secret. S.M. testified that at the time, he assumed the conditions were meant to ensure the relationship was genuine. “He trusted that Mr. Ghoreishi had the couple’s best interests at heart,” the court said. On April 19 of that year, however, Ghoreishi booked a hotel room for him and the woman, where he “demanded that she have sex with him.” If she refused, he threatened to distribute the video he had taken in Sudbury. “Under duress, she yielded to his demands, and they had sexual intercourse,” the court said. Tried to leave The same thing happened April 29. This time she tried to leave, “but was stopped by Mr. Ghoreishi who struck her hand, leaving a bruise. On the other occasion, during sex, Mr. Ghoreishi slapped her in the face.” After a third incident May 9 in Toronto, the victim and S.M. decided they had to cut Ghoreishi out of their lives. When he showed up at S.M.’s house in Toronto on May 19, they refused to let him in. Ghoreishi then sent them a series of angry texts, calling them “garbage” and threatening to “crush” them. In December 2020, a close friend of S.M.’s received an anonymous letter that attacked the woman’s character, saying she was not a virgin and was “unvirtuous.” “The author promised to send naked photos and videos of the complainant to other friends and the complainant’s family, thereby damaging the reputation of both the complainant and S.M.,” the appeals court said. “S.M.’s friend forwarded the letter to S.M., who confronted the complainant with it. The complainant then told S.M. that Mr. Ghoreishi had sexually assaulted her. She reported the assaults to the police shortly thereafter.” Insisted sex was consensual Ghoreishi was charged with four counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault and one count of forcible confinement. At trial, he said the sex was consensual, that he sent the texts in anger and that he knew nothing about the letter. In August 2023, he was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of assault. He received a 20-month conditional sentence. Ghoreishi appealed the guilty verdicts, while the Crown appealed the sentence, arguing he should do jail time. In his appeal, Ghoreishi said the trial judge failed to make it clear to the jury that they couldn’t conclude he committed sexual assault based on his bad behaviour in the texts or the letter. However, the appeals court ruled there was no evidence that “a meaningful risk” of that occurring. “It is clear from the verdict that the jury took its role seriously and rigorously applied the burden of proof to the evidence,” the appeals court said. “If the jury was simply convicting to punish Mr. Ghoreishi for his other acts, it is unclear why it would have found Mr. Ghoreishi not guilty of five of the seven charges he faced.” The court also ruled that the offences were serious enough to warrant jail time, imposing a three-year jail term. Left her fearful and distrustful “As reflected in her victim impact statement, and accepted by the trial judge, the offences had a significant impact on the complainant, leading her to be fearful and distrustful of physical contact and to harbour insecurities about her relationship with her now-husband, S.M.,” the court said. However, the sentence was stayed, since he had already served the conditional sentence. “Imprisoning Mr. Ghoreishi at this point would merely serve to disrupt his employment and housing and hinder his rehabilitation,” the court said. “In this case, the principles of denunciation and deterrence may be adequately addressed through allowing the sentence appeal, denouncing the sentence originally imposed, substituting the sentence that ought to have been imposed, but staying execution of that sentence.” Read the full decision here. If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
