Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi told an intoxicated 16-year-old girl in Nanaimo he was a pimp and established an online profile. The next day she filed a compaint Nanaimo RCMP. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

human trafficking

High-profile offender sentenced for posting escort ad of underage Nanaimo girl

May 25, 2021 | 5:33 AM

NANAIMO — A self-professed pimp took pictures of an intoxicated 16-year-old girl at a Nanaimo house party and then advertised her online for sexual services.

Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi, 20, was handed a six month non-custodial sentence on Friday, May 21 at provincial court in Nanaimo. He earlier pleaded guilty to the prostitution charge of advertising sexual services.

Miralinaghi was given 18 months probation following his conditional sentence with numerous strict provisions after a judge accepted a jointly submitted sentence recommendation.

The disturbing human trafficking offence occurred on Feb. 24, 2019 at a house party at the girl’s mother’s home, who was out of town at the time.

Miralinaghi, who was 18-years-old at the time, overheard the victim confide to a mutual friend at the party she was interested in being an escort when she was older.

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He said he could help the victim, gave her alcohol and proceeded to take pictures of her at the party. Those pictures were then uploaded to a website containing ads for sexual services.

His phone number was attached to the profile.

The victim and her mother filed a complaint to Nanaimo RCMP the following day, fearing the ad would remain online.

“It was a one-time, one day incident,” Crown prosecutor Leanne Mascolo told the court. “The advertisement was taken down in short order. I’m happy to report the complainant has moved on and is living a successful life two years after the incident.”

The victim didn’t remember posing for Miralinaghi and couldn’t explain why she did.

Mascolo said Miralinaghi tried to contact the victim on Snapchat for a day or two after the party, but she shut down her account and didn’t hear from or see him again.

Miralinaghi admitted to police he set up the profile and claimed he thought she was 17 or 18-years-old.

His guilty plea to one charge avoided a BC Supreme court trial and two other charges.

A pre-sentence report said Miralinaghi was born and raised in Iran before moving to Canada when he was about 6-years-old.

Defence lawyer Martin Screech said Miralinaghi was abused, including sexually, by his grandfather as a young boy.

He also has profound mental deficiencies, scoring in the bottom percentile in most cognitive categories.

Screech said Miralinaghi had no issues complying with his bail conditions and thrived under strict court-ordered conditions.

Judge Brian Harvey said Miralinaghi had pleaded guilty to a serious charge and he’ll need to respect the terms of his conditional sentence order.

“If you don’t, things will get much more serious for you and could end up having it collapse on you and spend a significant amount of time in custody,” judge Harvey said.

Miralinaghi elected not to address the court during his hearing conducted via teleconference.

He declined to comment to NanaimoNewsNOW after his February guilty plea.

The maximum sentence for advertising sexual services is 18 months in prison when pursued summarily.

Miralinaghi, who currently lives in Victoria, can’t possess drugs or alcohol unless prescribed and can’t delete his internet history while under the court’s watch.

His conditional sentence order includes a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

He can’t associate with anyone appearing to be under the age of 16 or attend any indoor or outdoor recreational facilities, schools or parks where people under 16 may be present.

He’ll be subject to counselling which could include treatment specifically designed for sex offenders.

Miralinaghi and four others were involved in highly publicized arrests in Saskatchewan in early 2020 and charged with human trafficking offences involving two young women.

The charges against Miralinaghi were stayed, but he was sentenced to six months behind bars for obstruction of justice.

Miralinaghi has a record as a youth offender.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

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