NZer jailed in US for 'lewd act' on child

New Zealander Lauren Kiredor Flint, 31, has been sentenced to a year in an American jail, followed by deportation, for committing a lewd act on a child in San Diego.

Flint, who was driving a car, asked directions of a 14-year-old girl at Ocean Beach, a San Diego suburb, on June 28. The girl noticed Flint was masturbating, the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper reported.

She walked away and Flint tried to grab her.

He pleaded guilty on November 4 after an earlier trial on attempting kidnapping charges ended in a hung jury.

After prosecutors said they would retry him on the felony counts, Flint agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offence of committing a lewd act on a child.

Flint was on holiday in San Diego when the crime took place, his lawyer Thomas Palmer said.

Superior Court Judge Charles Gill said that while Flint's behavior was "clearly inappropriate", by admitting his guilt he saved the victim from having to testify again.

Flint, will be deported back to New Zealand once he serves his custody in San Diego, and will have to register as a sex offender, the judge said.

- NZPA