The Department of Justice announced the sentencing of a Texas man who kidnapped a teenager at gunpoint, drove her across state lines to Los Angeles County and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
The girl was 13 years old.
On Friday, a judge sentenced 63-year-old Steven Robert Sablan to 35 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $1,158 in restitution.
Charging documents stated that Sablan approached the young girl 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.
Officials said Sablan then 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.”
He then held her and drove her to Long Beach, using a gun to threaten and control her.
“[Sablan] violently abducted a child and repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her thousands of miles from her home,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. “And 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.”
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 and arrested Sablan. The predator was charged in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in January 2024.
