During the journey from Texas to California, Sablan repeatedly sexually assaulted the victim.
DALLAS — A North Texas man who kidnapped a 13-year-old girl at gunpoint in San Antonio, then repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her to California, where she was rescued by waving a “help me” note to passersby, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.
Steven Robert Sablan, 63, of Cleburne, Texas, pleaded guilty in January 2024 to one count of kidnapping. He was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, and ordered to pay $1,158 in restitution.
“The 35-year sentence imposed ensures this defendant will not have the opportunity to victimize children,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally.
According to federal prosecutors, the girl was walking in San Antonio on July 6, 2023, when Sablan pulled alongside her in a gray Nissan Sentra, pointed a gun at her and ordered her into the car. He drove away with the girl and asked how old she was, and she told him she was 13, prosecutors said.
The girl also told him she had a friend in Australia, and Sablan allegedly told her that he could take her to a cruise ship so she could visit the friend, “but she had to do something for him first,” prosecutors said.
Sablan repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl and began driving her to Southern California. Prosecutors said he sexually assaulted her at least two more times along the way.
On July 9, Sablan parked the car in Long Beach and went into a laundromat to wash their clothes, prosecutors said. While he was away, the girl — still in the car — wrote “Help Me” on a note and showed it to people passing by, prompting one of them to call the police.
Responding officers found the girl, and she mouthed the word “help” to them, according to prosecutors.
Long Beach police located and arrested Sablan.
Officers also found a pair of handcuffs and a black BB gun inside the car, along with the “help me” note the girl had written.
Prosecutors said that the girl was a reported runaway in San Antonio when she was taken.
“This sentencing announcement represents a collaborative commitment to holding individuals accountable for victimizing and inflicting trauma upon our children,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish.
Story Courtesy of WFAA
