UC San Diego serial flasher Nicholas Javier Saienni was sentenced on June 27 for indecent exposure and will be required to register as a sex offender and get counseling, City Attorney Mara W. Elliott announced.
Saienni was arrested by police for indecent expose and lewd acts involving seven female victims in eight separate incidents near the University of California San Diego campus in the UTC South neighborhood between January and March 2019. Saienni exposed his genitals to these women while posing as a jogger, wearing a hooded sweatshirt to conceal his identity. When arrested, the 34-year-old suspect admitted the indecent exposure to the police. He also admitted to police that he had been convicted of similar lewd acts in Wilmington, Del. in 2014.
“Flashers often set out to shock, upset, or shame their victims, and their behavior can escalate to more serious sex crimes,” Elliott said. “My office prosecutes these cases vigorously, and seeks sex offender registration to warn the community of predators who may reoffend.” The San Diego City Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Saienni. On May 30, Saienni pled guilty to four misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure. Today, San Diego Superior Court Judge David Berry sentenced Saienni to 180 days of custody (which he has already served), three years of formal, supervised probation, a waiver of his Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless searches and seizure, and court fines and fees. The court also required Saienni to attend sex offender counseling and to register as a sex offender. Should he violate the terms of his probation, he could face additional custody of up to one year and six months in jail.
Deputy City Attorney Christina Howden prosecuted Saienni for the City Attorney’s Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Unit on behalf of the People of the State of California.