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Scottsdale police officers have arrested a registered sex offender in connection to a series of crimes of exposure and public sexual indecency. The suspect, John Szakin (04/17/58) of Peoria, AZ was caught near 5th Avenue and Goldwater in Scottsdale early Sunday morning fully exposing himself to undercover police officers.
Szakin is suspected in a series of at least 15 incidents over the past 10 months of exposing himself to females in the downtown Scottsdale area. The suspect’s behavior and physical description were similarly described by the female victims. He was reported as a white male, 25-40 years, brown hair, 5`10-6`1" tall with a thin build. The suspect was reported to be completely naked walking or running on the streets of the downtown Scottsdale area during the early morning hours. During some of the incidents, he was seen masturbating in front of female victims.
In response to the series of incidents, officers and detectives have been out looking for the suspect and positioning undercover officers in the areas where the incident had taken place. At about 1:30 AM on Sunday, 2 undercover officers noticed the suspect walk by them several times, circling around them on the opposite sidewalks and ducking into alleys. When first seen, he was clothed with an open black shirt and pant. Moments later, other undercover officers noticed the same suspect near a vehicle parked on Goldwater Blvd. This time he was fully naked from the waist down. Officers observed him run from his truck and eventually take his shirt off to become fully naked except for shoes. Officers gave chase on foot and caught the suspect near 5th Ave and Goldwater. The suspect resisted arrest and was forcibly taken into custody.
When interviewed, the suspect admitted to numerous incidents in Scottsdale over the past year. He said that he would drive from his home in Peoria to downtown Scottsdale, where he knew females would be exiting the bars in the early morning hours. He said that at least once a week, for the past year, he would do this. He told detectives that he was currently on probation for exposing himself to a minor in Scottsdale a few years ago.
Detectives confirmed a 2008 arrest in Scottsdale for public sexual indecency in the Scottsdale/Shea area. As a result of that incident, Szakin is a registered sex offender in Arizona.
Scottsdale detectives are examining all of the reported incidents that match the description of Szakin’s crimes over the past 2 years. In such cases where he is established to be the suspect, appropriate charges will be submitted to the prosecutor. He was held in-custody on a $50,000 bond out of Scottsdale City Court for Sunday’s incident. | 
