A Texas man has been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teen girl who he allegedly abducted at gunpoint and then drove to Los Angeles County earlier this month.
The United States Department of Justice announced Thursday that Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, has been charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Charging documents state that Sablan approached the victim as she was walking on the street in San Antonio, Texas on July 6. He allegedly pulled out a black handgun and told the victim to get in his car or else he would harm her. Fearing for her life, she complied, the DOJ said.
He allegedly asked the girl her age, to which she replied she was 13. At one point she mentioned she had a friend in Australia, and Sablan apparently told her he could take her on a cruise ship to visit her friend, but she “had to do something for him first.”
In the days that followed, Sablan drove the girl from Texas to California and raped her on several occasions, according to the indictment.
On the morning of July 9, Sablan parked his Nissan Sentra in a car lot in Long Beach and took their clothes to a laundromat. While he was inside, the girl scrawled a message for help on a piece of paper and tried desperately to get someone’s attention.
A good Samaritan saw the note, acknowledged the girl and immediately called 911, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Police responded to the scene and found Sablan standing outside the vehicle, at which point the girl mouthed the word “help.” Police detained Sablan and contacted the girl, who was “visibly emotional and distressed.” They searched Sablan’s car and recovered a black BB gun, a sign that read “Help me” and a pair of handcuffs.
They later discovered that the victim was reported as a runaway missing person from San Antonio.
Sablan was taken into custody and booked into the Long Beach City Jail.
On Thursday he appeared in court to face charges for his alleged crimes. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The FBI is the lead agency investigating the case, with assistance from the Long Beach Police Department and their counterparts in Cleburne, Texas.
