Martin Iglesias sentenced for following woman down Hurstville street

A man, who believes the Chinese Government uses young Asian women as props to attract older Anglo-Saxon men in Australia, has a “compulsion” to intimidate them, a court has heard.

Martin Iglesias followed a young Asian woman down the street in Hurstville making her feel scared. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A Campsie man has been convicted of following a woman after it was revealed he had a ‘fixation’ with young Asian women, believing the Chinese Government planted them to attract older Anglo-Saxon men.

Martin Iglesias, 46, pleaded guilty to intimidation and was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.

He initially applied to have the charge dismissed under the Mental Health Act but the application was refused.

Agreed facts tendered to court state Iglesias started following a woman who left a house in Hurstville on May 31, 2021 and started walking down the street.

Iglesias did not know the woman who noticed he was following her, causing her to feel uncomfortable.

Campsie man Martin Iglesias, 46, pleaded guilty to intimidation. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

She crossed the road to walk on the opposite footpath before Iglesias did the same, making the woman suspicious and she returned to the original side of the road to get away from him.

Iglesias again followed her and at one stage was only a metre away from her.

The woman walked up the stairs of a gym because she was suspicious of Iglesias who remained at the bottom of the stairs for several minutes before he left after a staff member approached him,

Iglesias followed the woman for about 450m and left the woman feeling “very uneasy and scared”.

The woman, who is of Asian heritage, reported the incident to Hurstville police station and provided a statement and CCTV footage was obtained.

The court heard in 2018 Iglesias had five charges of intimidation dismissed under mental health grounds; and in June 2019 he was placed on a two-year conditional release order without conviction for another intimidation charge.

The court heard in 2018, Iglesias spoke to five young Asian females and made innuendos and insinuated they had infatuations with older Caucasian males.

In 2019 Iglesias and the victim, a young Asian female, were at a gym and Iglesias kept looking at her and followed her as she moved to different equipment.

When she left, Iglesias followed her calling out and she was so concerned she didn’t want to get into her car before she ran towards the front desk of the gym distraught and crying.

Iglesias was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court.

The court heard Iglesias, in a sentence assessment report for 2021 charge, indicated he had sought acknowledgment from Asian women but they had ignored him.

He conceded his behaviour “crossed a line” but minimised his actions, claiming “is just eye contact”.

The court heard Iglesias was diagnosed with narcissistic personality and delusional disorders and since the offence had started antipsychotic medication and continued to see a psychologist, with Iglesias reporting he had improved in regulating his emotions and thoughts.

The court heard a psychologist opined in 2019 that Iglesias “presents with a fixed and false belief that the Chinese Government is using young Chinese women to infiltrate Australian society to “Asianise” the country” as a form of soft diplomacy.

The psychologist added Iglesias acted on his belief through approaching young Asian women and intimidating them.

The psychologist noted Iglesias believed the women were attempting to attract older Anglo-Saxon Australian men and he found “it difficult to resist the compulsion when triggered … and persists with the inappropriate behaviour despite the risk to his career, family and reputation”.

However, another doctor noted this belief was contradicted by his personal experience, having established a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman who appeared to be genuinely attracted to him.

Magistrate Philip Stewart firmly rejected the assessment that Iglesias was a “low risk of reoffending” given he continued to offend in an identical manner.

“All women, and specifically in relation to this offending, young Asian women, are entitled to walk in public areas with fear of being stalked or intimidated,” he said.

“The current offending represents a continued manifestation of his delusional disorder and his fixation regarding young Asian women.”

Mr Stewart sentenced Iglesias to a three-year community correction order with 300 hours of community service work.