Harry Styles This article is more than 4 years old

Harry Styles stalker told to keep away from ex-One Direction singer

This article is more than 4 years old

Pablo Tarazaga-Orero sentenced after leaving pop star scared in his own home

A man convicted of stalking Harry Styles after spending months camped outside his house has been barred from going within 250 metres of the singer.

Pablo Tarazaga-Orero, 26, left the former One Direction singer feeling scared and “very uncomfortable” after sleeping outside his house and posting notes and money through his letterbox.

Tarazaga-Orero, who denied wrongdoing and claimed Styles had propositioned him, was convicted after a trial last week at Hendon magistrates court in London.

Sentencing the defendant on Monday, the district judge, Nigel Dean, banned him from going within 250 metres (820ft) of Styles, his home or business addresses, or attending any concert or event where he was due to appear. He was also ordered not to contact the singer directly or indirectly, or post about him on social media.

Tarazaga-Orero was given a 12-month community order and 30 days of rehabilitation. Dean said: “You should be aware that failing to comply with a community order is a criminal offence that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.”

Katy Weiss, prosecuting, said: “I spoke to Mr Styles yesterday and he’s adamant he wants [the defendant] to get help, although he doesn’t want to see him again.”

The court heard Styles first came in contact with Tarazaga-Orero after noticing him sleeping rough close to his north London home, and offered him money to get food or a hotel. Styles told the court: “I thought it was sad that someone so young was sleeping rough at a bus stop when it was cold.”

Tarazaga-Orero, a vegan, asked for edamame beans, the court heard. The following day, the singer returned with two sandwiches, two salads and two muffins from a vegan cafe but decided to stop interacting with the defendant because of his “odd” behaviour.

Styles told the court: “He asked me if I wanted to go to a restaurant to eat. I told him I was on my way to work. I found it a little odd. His facial expression made me feel a little uneasy. It was like a smirk. Until that point, I never felt unsafe or uneasy in my own home.”

Despite severing contact with the man on the advice of his security staff, Styles continued to see Tarazaga-Orero “incredibly often … almost every day”. In April, Tarazaga-Orero posted coins to the value of £49.95 through the singer’s letterbox.

Styles said he was also followed into a local pub a number of times and stopped on a run on 30 May by Tarazaga-Orero, who asked for money.

The defendant claimed he chose to sleep in Styles’s neighbourhood after he became homeless in February because it felt safer than central London. He said he could make up to £100 from the public each day, adding: “I was surprised, and many people helped me.”

When asked whether he had stalked the celebrity, Tarazaga-Orero said: “That was never my intention. In the end, I just wanted the money he offered me.”

He denied being obsessed or in love with Styles.

The defendant suggested the pop star propositioned him, telling the court he had said: “‘Let’s come to a hotel, let’s have some fun’, or something like that.”

The court heard Tarazaga-Orero’s stalking continued to have a “significant impact” on Styles’s day-to-day life.

The singer said: “I never really encountered this kind of behaviour before. I’ve employed a night guard. I continue to lock my bedroom door at night.” He added that he continued to check for weak spots in his home.

Tarazaga-Orero carried a copy of the Gita, a Hindi holy book adopted by the Hare Krishna movement, and wore a necklace of paper flowers in the dock.

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