Registered sex offender John Szakin's got a hobby: at least once a week for the past year, he's gone to downtown Scottsdale early in the morning with the sole purpose of flashing women as they left bars.
Early Sunday morning, about 1:30, Szakin was on the prowl near Fifth Avenue and Goldwater Boulevard when he came across two women in an area where he'd flashed people before.
The two women watched as Szakin -- who, at the time, was wearing pants and a black, unbuttoned shirt -- ducked into alleys as he appeared to be following them.
Those two women were undercover Scottsdale police officers looking for a a suspect in a series of flashings that occurred over the previous 10 months.
Moments after the undercover cops watched Szakin ducking into alleys, another undercover unit nearby saw Szakin near a car parked on Goldwater Boulevard -- sans pants.
With their suspect naked from the waist down at this point, the undercover officers watched as Szakin ran from the car, removing his shirt in the process.
Police gave chase to the now-completely naked man. Szakin resisted arrest, but was ultimately "forcibly" taken into custody, Scottsdale police say.
Turns out, aside from being linked to at least 15 flashings since September, Szakin's also a registered as a sex offender convicted of exposing himself to a minor in Scottsdale in 2008.
Once in custody, Szakin told police he drives to Scottsdale from his home in Peoria at least once a week to flash people. He admitted to several incidents and says he targeted women as they left bars early in the morning.
Scottsdale police are looking into all cases similar to flashing incidents to which Szakin's confessed.
Szakin's being held on a $50,000 bond. Appropriate charges will be submitted to the city prosecutor for all the flashing cases linked to Szakin, police say.
