Flint was on vacation in San Diego when the crime occurred, defense attorney Thomas Palmer said last month.

The girl testified at a preliminary hearing last June 28 that she was walking home from school around 3:45 p.m. June 9 when a man in a red truck – whom she identified as Flint – pulled over to ask the way to Ocean Beach.

The man said he was from New Zealand, was lost and had to go to the beach, and asked the girl to get in the car, she testified.

When the girl declined, the defendant drove up a few minutes later and asked for more directions, she testified.

The girl said she noticed the man was masturbating, and she walked away.

The man followed her for about a block, then tried to grab her, she said.

The girl, who took karate classes for two years, said she punched him in the jaw when she felt herself being pulled toward the car.

San Diego police Investigator John Davis testified that he received a tip that led him to the Santa Cruz Avenue home of Flint's female roommate, who said the defendant matched a composite.

Flint said he thought the victim was attractive and older than she turned out to be, Davis testified.

In a September trial, Flint denied the allegations on the witness stand, and a jury deadlocked 11-1 on three felony counts of attempted kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a felony and committing a lewd act.

The jury convicted Flint of one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure, for which he could have been sentenced to two years in jail. After prosecutors said they would retry him on the felony counts, Flint agreed to plead guilty to a lessor offense.

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, who is not a U.S. citizen, will be deported back to New Zealand once he serves his custody in San Diego, the judge said.

Gill also told the defendant he would have to register as a sex offender.