A 13-year-old girl from Texas was saved in California after waving a “help me” note to people as she was reportedly kidnapped, sexually attacked, and dragged on a road trip.
IN A NEWS STATEMENT, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, was charged in the indictment with one count each of kidnapping and transporting a child with the plan to engage in illegal sexual behavior. On July 31, he will be in court in downtown Los Angeles, California.
According to the charge and statement, the young victim was walking on July 6 in San Antonio, Texas, when Sablan reportedly pulled out a black weapon and told the victim to get into his car.
Sablan reportedly told the teen, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I’m going to hurt you.” The teen agreed and got in Sablan’s car.
Court papers say the 61-year-old man started driving and told the girl he could take her on a cruise ship to see her friend in Australia.
The girl says that Sablan told her she “had to do something for him first.”
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The adult is then said to have sexually attacked her and kept doing so as they drove from Texas to California.
On July 9, Sablan stopped in Long Beach, California, and went into a laundry to wash their clothes while the victim stayed in the car. Officials say that while her attacker was busy with something else, the teen victim wrote “help me” on a scrap of paper to get someone’s attention.
Someone saw the girl and called the Long Beach Police Department. When the officers got there, they found Sablan standing outside the car. Officials say that the teen mouthed “help” to them from inside.
Officers found a black BB gun, a “Help me” sign, and a pair of chains when they searched the car.
Sablan was caught, and it didn’t take long for the police to discover that the victim had been reported missing in Texas.
Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said, “I want to thank our community members for being alert and willing to help by calling 9-1-1.” “This event shows how important it is for community members to keep people safe. I’d also like to thank our cops for how quickly they responded and what they did to get this person to safety.”
Officials said that if Sablan is found guilty of kidnapping and moving a child with the plan to engage in illegal sexual behavior, he could spend the rest of his life in federal jail.
