Warning: This article contains graphic content relating to sexual assault.
The Port Hueneme resident who threatened the Isla Vista community in February by committing four attempted kidnappings, sexual battery and assault and several acts of indecent exposure, was sentenced to seven years in state prison on April 20.
According to court records obtained by the Nexus, the attempted kidnapper, Michael Angelo Auclair, currently has twelve protective orders served against him.
Police first responded to an attempted kidnapping in Isla Vista as well as a sexual battery near the West Campus Family Student Housing on Feb. 28. Isla Vista Foot Patrol received reports of additional incidents throughout the day, including multiple indecent exposures and a sexual assault.
During this time, the UC Santa Barbara administration urged students not to walk alone and to exercise caution. Former Associated Students President Yuval Cohen established the Safe Transportation Task Force on March 1 in response to the incidents — a program that allowed students to be reimbursed for ride-share services to and from campus from 6 p.m. through sunrise so students wouldn’t have to walk home alone.
After evading police capture for nearly a week, Auclair was arrested in Lompoc on March 5. He was booked with a $1 million bail.
In April, Auclair pleaded guilty to attempted kidnapping and multiple counts of indecent exposure as part of a plea agreement with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office. By agreeing to plead guilty to these charges, Auclair had additional charges against him — three kidnapping charges and sexual battery and assault — dismissed by the DA.
As per the plea agreement, a judge sentenced Auclair to seven years in state prison on April 20 on one count of attempted kidnapping. He will serve three consecutive two-year sentences during his seven-year imprisonment, one for each indecent exposure, and pay over $2,000 in victim restitution and other court-imposed fees as a part of his plea deal, according to court records obtained by the Nexus.
A version of this article appeared on p.7 of the August 25, 2022 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
