LOS ANGELES
A Texas man pleaded guilty Friday to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl at gunpoint last year in San Antonio, officials stated.
Steven Robert Sablan admitted that he drove her to California, threatened her with a firearm, and sexually assaulted her multiple times before his arrest in Long Beach.
Sablan, 62, of Cleburne, Texas, plead guilty to one count of kidnapping. Sablan has been in federal custody since July 2023.
According to his plea agreement, on July 6, 2023, in San Antonio, Sablan abducted the victim, held her, and transported her in his gray Nissan Sentra to Long Beach, California. The victim told Sablan she was 13 years old.
(News Report 2023)
During this ordeal, Sablan used a firearm to threaten and control the victim.
Sablan confined the victim until she was rescued on July 9, 2023, in Long Beach after a Good Samaritan called 911 after seeing her holding a “Help Me” sign in the window of Sablan’s car.
Sablan admitted in his plea agreement that during the Texas-to-California journey, he engaged in sexual activity with the victim. At the time of the crime, Sablan had no legal custody or familial relationship with the victim.
(News Report 2023)
U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha scheduled an October 25 sentencing hearing. At that time, Sablan faces up to life in prison.
The FBI and the Long Beach Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.