Sign given by kidnapping victim helped save 13-year-old girl from rapist

Recidivist kidnapper arrested

A sign from a kidnapping victim asking for help led to the rescue of a teenage girl and the arrest of a suspect. A 13-year-old girl was rescued in Southern California after signing “Help me!” to alert passers-by, which then led to the arrest of her abductor, an older Texan.

Kidnapping suspect Steven Robert Sablan, 61, is currently facing federal kidnapping charges for an incident in which he allegedly pointed a gun at a girl while she was walking on the sidewalk next to a bus stop in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month.

According to the authorities, the girl left home without telling her parents because she was trying to visit a school friend who had moved to another place, with whom she kept in touch over the Internet. Moreover, another place turned out to be … Australia. According to NBC, at some point, getting into the attacker’s car, the girl told him about her friend, and Sablan said that he could take her to a cruise ship to go to Australia, but that she would have to do something for him.

“If you don’t get in the car with me, I will hurt you,” Sablan told the victim, according to court documents.

Once in the car, Sablan allegedly repeatedly sexually abused the thirteen-year-old girl while driving her from Texas to California, according to the affidavit.

Sablan was indicted by a grand jury this week on one count of kidnapping and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, CNN reports. He is scheduled to be charged later this month, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.

Police said that on July 9, when Sablan walked into a laundromat in Long Beach, California, the kidnapped girl held up a piece of paper that read “Help me!” from the suspect’s parked car, prompting the random “Good Samaritan” who spotted this to call 911. Long Beach police officers said the girl was “visibly agitated and upset” upon their arrival.

After examining the car’s license plate, the police learned that Sablan was wanted on a burglary charge in Fort Worth, Texas, and was considered an armed and dangerous criminal. It also became known that Sablan had previously been convicted of robbery and possession of drugs.

According to a federal affidavit, a black handgun, later identified as an airgun, a jackknife, and fetish handcuffs, was found in Sablan’s car.

If found guilty on both counts, Sablan could face a prison sentence of up to life. Sablan is currently being held at the Federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

As for his unfortunate victim, the girl rescued from the hands of the villain was transferred to the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Families.