William Gorewich

: The man, who cannot be identified by court order to protect his now ex-wife and children, will instead have to serve a four-year term, the Appeal Court decided. "Cultural norms that condone or tolerate conduct contrary to Canadian criminal law must not be considered a mitigating factor on sentencing," the Appeal Court ruled. "To hold otherwise undermines the equality of all individuals before and under the law." In fact, the higher court said, cultural beliefs may even be an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing, according to CTV. In June last year, Judge William Gorewich of the court of justice in Newmarket, Ont., convicted the man of sexual assault and four counts of assault for offences that occurred after the family move from Iran to Canada in 2009. In doing so, the Court of Appeal said the lower court judge who handed the man an 18-month term was wrong to assume cultural differences were a mitigating factor -- even though the defence never raised the issue. The judge accepted there had been "long-standing and ongoing" abuse. She cried out quietly so the children would not hear. Evidence was that the man forced his wife to have sex with him by hitting her, pulling her hair, pinching her, and forcefully removing her clothes. "The sex was painful. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.