2023-07-23 20:08:36
A 61-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly abducting a teenage girl and raping her on his way to California.
According to the Long Beach Police Department, on July 9 at 10:19 a.m., officers were called to a parking lot.
Upon arrival, they found a 13-year-old girl ‘visibly emotional and distressed’.
It is thanks to the vigilance of citizens that the intervention could have been carried out.
Good Samaritans would have seen the girl in a parked car.
She held up a sign that read “Help me.”
The witnesses contacted 911 immediately after seeing the message.
The young girl had been kidnapped on July 6 in San Antonio, near a bus stop.
According to the California Central District Attorney’s Office, on the day of the abduction, suspect Steven Robert Sablan allegedly pointed a gun at the victim and said, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I’m going to hurt you.”
The teenager complied because she feared for her life.
Detectives determined that the victim had been sexually assaulted during the trip.
The suspect, Steven Robert Sablan, now faces federal charges of kidnapping and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
If convicted, Mr. Sablan faces life in prison.
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