Suspect arrested overseas after Sacramento State assaults agrees to plea deal, faces prison

The man who was arrested in Germany earlier this year and initially faced charges in connection with the sexual assaults of two Sacramento State students pleaded no contest to physically assaulting them and will be sentenced to prison later this month, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

Nida Muhammad Niazy, 32, appeared in Sacramento County Superior Court on July 28 and entered the plea to assault, while charges of sexual assault including a count of rape were dismissed in a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, according to Sacramento County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet.

The defendant pleaded no contest to assault using force likely to produce great bodily injury, Bladet said Tuesday in an emailed statement to The Sacramento Bee. A second count of assault was waived on conditions of restitution and a “stay away/no contact” agreement with the victim.

The charges carry a two-year state prison sentence, Bladet said.

Niazy was wanted by Sacramento State police in connection with two separate incidents of sexual assault: one on Aug. 21, 2022, near campus; and the second Sept. 18, 2022, on campus, according to Sacramento State Police Chief Chet Madison.

Authorities said Niazy left the country Nov. 5 when he boarded a commercial flight from San Francisco to Switzerland. The FBI obtained a warrant for Niazy’s arrest shortly afterward, in December, officials said.

The suspect was found in February in Germany by local law enforcement with assistance from FBI and Interpol agents. Niazy was originally arrested on multiple felony charges including intent to commit rape, assault by means of force and rape by means of force, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Law enforcement announced Niazy’s arrest in February; he was extradited and booked into jail in Sacramento in late May, jail records show.

Niazy is scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on Aug. 25 for his sentencing hearing, Bladet said, where he faces a sentence of two years in prison. He is currently held in the Sacramento County Main Jail without bail.

This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 5:16 PM.