Iranian voyeur granted conditional discharge by Winnipeg judge to avoid deportation

An Iranian-born man has been given a conditional discharge by a Winnipeg judge so he can avoid being deported after he pled guilty to engaging in voyeurism.Seyed Reza Mir Heidari, who is currently living in Canada on a work visa that was recently extended until April 2027, worked as a chemist and was arrested for secretly and repeatedly recording the backsides of two women he works with without their consent.As a result of this, Heidari was fired from the lab where he worked with the two women. Heidari, who is 29, admitted that, between November 2024 and January 2025, "he took photos and videos of two female co-workers in their mutual workplace.""The photos and videos depicted the victims’ faces, backsides, and buttocks. The victims were fully clothed,” the court records state.The two victims were both in their 20s at the time of the offences.After the women noticed Heidari filming them, they notified their superiors, and Heidari was suspended immediately. .When police searched his house a few days later, they found a total of 55 images of the victims saved on his devices.Heidari pled guilty to two charges of voyeurism, a guilty plea that, his lawyer insists, will affect his application for permanent residency, an application that is now on hold as a result of the charges.His lawyer also argued that the situation may result in Heidari facing possible deportation.Judge Catherine Carlson decided against giving Heidari a criminal record and sentenced him to only three years of probation due to a multitude of factors."Given Mr. Mir Heidari’s lack of record, rehabilitative work done, his remorse and insight, the significant collateral consequences that could result from a conviction, and the fact he is well educated and has held a full time job long term, I am persuaded that it is in the public interest that he be able to move forward without a criminal record, so that he can continue being a contributing member to Canadian society," Judge Carlson wrote in her decision..Another factor in her decision is that if Heidari were deported, he would be deported to Iran, a country currently fighting a war with the United States."Iran is at war with the United States. Mr. Mir Heidari’s wife is an American citizen. It is unlikely Mr. Mir Heidari would be able to go to the United States or that his wife would be able to go to Iran. The practical result is likely that Mr. Mir Heidari would not be able to be in the same country as his wife. That of course could be expected to have a detrimental impact on their marriage.”Carlson also added that a criminal charge would also affect his ability to get a new job after having been fired from his previous one.She added that Heidari was "a person of good character" and also attributed her light sentence to the fact that Heidari had "no prior convictions.".The two victims expressed their disgust and horror after discovering that Heidari had been filming them and saving the footage to his personal devices.One of the victims stated that she felt "objectified and sexualized in a place where she was just doing her job. She is still scared about what was being done with the images, since they were beyond her control.”The other victim recounted a similar feeling, saying that she "felt violated by Mr. Mir Heidari’s actions. Watching him take photos on the video footage made her physically sick. His actions took away her sense of safety, dignity and ability to trust."The Crown had appealed for a criminal conviction, seeking a suspended sentence and three years of probation; however, this was denied."The Crown says a criminal conviction in this case is needed to recognize the seriousness of the offences.”It appears that Heidari will avoid deportation, but it remains to be seen if this case will affect his ability to get permanent residency before his work permit runs out in April.

Iranian voyeur granted conditional discharge by Winnipeg judge to avoid deportation

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