[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A man has been sentenced to prison after a young girl bravely helped police solve her own kidnapping.
In July 2023, according to prosecutors in a press release, Steven Robert Sablan pulled his car up alongside a 13-year-old girl in San Antonio, Texas, and pointed a gun at her. The teen, who was a reported runaway, was then forced into the car as the 63-year-old man allegedly told her:
“If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you.”
Scary… but it only gets worse from there.
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Sablan told police after the girl got in his car, she told him her age and that she had a friend in Australia. He agreed to take her to a cruise ship and drop her off so she could go see her friend, but “she had to do something for him first,” thus starting a three-day-long “terror” trip to California.
The Assistant Director of the FBI‘s Los Angeles Field Office, Akil Davis, said in a statement:
“Mr. Sablan took this young girl from the safety of her Texas home and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at gunpoint throughout a lengthy drive of terror to California. [Sablan] violently abducted a child and repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her thousands of miles from her home. While [Sablan] spent days abusing her for his own pleasure, her parents agonized over their missing child, fearing the worst. The worst was not far from reality.”
Just gut-wrenching — but the girl acted fast and was able to bravely get herself help.
According to KSAT, Sablan stopped at a laundromat in Long Beach to wash their clothes while the teen stayed in the car. She found a slip of paper, wrote “Help Me” on it (pictured below), and placed it in the window, where a passerby noticed it and called the cops. When police arrived, per the United States Attorney’s Office, they found the man standing outside of the car with the girl inside it, and she mouthed “help” to responding officers.
Sablan was taken into custody shortly after, with the girl being rescued by police. Law enforcement officials also found handcuffs and a BB gun along with the note inside the car. Chilling…
On Friday, Sablan was sentenced after being found guilty of kidnapping charges. He was formerly charged with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, but a plea deal eliminated that charge. His official sentence is 35 years in prison while also being ordered to pay $1,158 in restitution, per the USAO.
Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally said in a statement following the sentencing:
“The 35-year sentence imposed ensures this defendant will not have the opportunity to victimize children. There is nothing as important as protecting our young people. I commend our federal and local law enforcement partners for their efforts to secure justice here.”
We’re so glad to hear the girl was saved, but what an awful situation. She really had some impressive quick thinking!
Thoughts on this sentence, Perezcious readers?
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via United States Department of Justice]
The post 13-Year-Old Girl Held 'Help Me' Sign In Car Window — When Cops Came, They Discovered Something Unspeakable appeared first on Perez Hilton.
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