The hearing for Saman Namwar Haghighi Shirazi, a 33-year-old Vancouver man who was arrested last year for secretly filming women at the Park Royal shopping mall, was held Tuesday. He had previously pleaded guilty in October to one of three charges of “unlawful observation or recording of persons for sexual purposes,” and the other two charges will be dropped at the end of the trial, according to an agreement between the parties.

A review of CCTV footage showed Namwar Haghighi wandering around the mall for about 40 minutes, filming several women. A security guard at the mall saw him taking photos and videos up the women’s skirts and immediately reported him.

In addition to conditional release, the prosecutor in the case has recommended that the defendant be banned from entering Park Royal and contacting the complainants, and be ordered to perform community service and attend counseling sessions. In contrast, his defense attorney described him as a criminally innocent man with a degree in mechanical engineering from SFU and UBC who lost his job after the incident and is trying to rebuild his life.

Namwar Haghighi told the court that he deeply regrets his actions and has no excuse for violating the trust and privacy of others. He added that he is undergoing treatment and counseling and intends to leave this behavior behind him forever. The judge has not yet issued a final ruling, but if the joint offer is accepted, he will not have a criminal record if he meets the conditions of his parole.

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