Man caught on video in Vancouver incident described as stalking sentenced to 1 year of probation

Charge stayed in case of stalking video A harassment charge was stayed Friday against a man allegedly recorded following a woman through Vancouver last year.

Vancouver — A man who was charged with harassment in a caught-on-camera incident described by the woman involved as stalking has been sentenced, but not for his role in that incident.

Mohammed Majidpour received his sentence Friday, months after he was charged with several offences, including mischief, uttering threats, breaking and entering, and assault with a weapon, as well as harassment.

The harassment count was stayed, along with several other charges, as part of a joint submission by the Crown and Majidpour's lawyer.

Majidpour pleaded guilty to the other four charges listed above and was sentenced to one day in jail and one year of probation, according to the BC Prosecution Service.

He'll be given 180 days' credit for time served before sentencing.

The 34-year-old of no fixed address was not sentenced to time behind bars, in part because of his deteriorating health. The court heard that Majidpour is addicted to heroin, and needs proper treatment.

After appearing in court via video link, Majidpour is expected to be released from custody Friday. The conditions of his release include that he is prohibited from carrying any weapons, and from contacting the victim in the case and two other women who'd filed complaints against him.

Once released, Majidpour will be staying in a shelter until space is available at a treatment centre.

He was given the opportunity to address the court Friday, but declined.

His case rose to prominence because of a widely-shared video posted on social media by a woman who said she was being stalked by a man who can be seen walking behind her.

The woman said she didn't know the man who followed her for about 40 minutes. Her post garnered significant attention online, and police began a search for the man involved.

Jamie Coutts, who captured the video on her cellphone, told CTV News in an interview at the time that she'd noticed she was being followed, and stopped walking so he could pass, but that he just "stared" at her.

Coutts said she told him he was walking too close to her, but that nothing changed. She'd also tried walking around the block several times, as fast as she could, to test that she actually was being followed.

Eventually, she ran into a group of people at a skate park, and sat with them until the man left. She later reported the incident to police, once she felt safe.

Officers with the Vancouver Police Department said her story encouraged other victims of similar incidents to come forward, and their accounts were also investigated.

The VPD advises anyone who has a gut feeling they aren't safe to call 911. Coutts also recommends taking a video or photo of the person, if it's possible to do so safely.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Travis Prasad in court