A former San Diego-based babysitter arrested last year on allegations that he molested three boys he was hired to care for was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years in state prison.
Zayne St. Julien, 23, of Poway, pleaded guilty earlier this year to three counts of lewd acts on a child. Along with prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life, according to Deputy District Attorney Eva Kilamyan. Prior to his plea, he faced up to 90 years to life behind bars.
Police said the boys -- who were ages 7, 8 and 11 at the time -- were molested between July and December of last year, with each incident occurring at the victims' homes.
In each case, the victim's parents hired St. Julien through a website known as SitterCity, SDPD Lt. Adam Sharki said. Representatives with the company said St. Julien underwent nearly a dozen background checks, with none identifying any criminal history. The company also said that upon the initial complaint received from one of the parents, St. Julien was terminated from the platform and police were "immediately contacted."
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One parent reported the molestation of her child to police in November 2022, prompting a criminal investigation, according to Sharki. With the assistance of SitterCity personnel, two other boys were identified as victims, and their parents reported the incidents the following month, the lieutenant said.
In a victim impact statement, a mother of one of the victims said, "My son continues to be haunted by flashbacks and has had continuous night terrors. He has regressed both academically as well as socially in school and if afraid to be left alone in fear that some dark monster is going to do bad things to him again."
St. Julien was arrested in late December as he was exiting an airplane at San Diego International Airport, according to police.
NBC 7's Priya Sridhar contributed to this report.
