Man Sentenced After 13-Year-Old Girl's 'Help Me' Note to Passersby Leads to Rescue

Steven Robert Sablan, 63, of Cleburne, Texas was sentenced on Friday to 35 years (420 months) in a federal prison. This after he confessed pleaded guilty to kidnapping last month.

The plea deal eliminates the charge of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Had he been found guilty on both charges, Sablan would have faced a maximum life sentence. He was also ordered to pay $1,158 in restitution, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in California.

 The three-day terror began for the young teenager when she was kidnapped at gunpoint in San Antonio on July 6, 2023, with Sablan confessing to driving with his victim to California, threatening her with a gun, and sexually assaulting her multiple times.

"Mr. Sablan took this young girl from the safety of her Texas home and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at gunpoint throughout a lengthy drive of terror to California," said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis in the statement.

"[Sablan] violently abducted a child and repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her thousands of miles from her home," argued prosecutors in a sentencing memorandum cited by the USAO. They stated that the victim was a reported runaway in San Antonio at the time of her kidnapping.

"While [Sablan] spent days abusing her for his own pleasure, her parents agonized over their missing child, fearing the worst," the document continued. "The worst was not far from reality."

According to prosecutors, Sablan pulled up alongside the 13-year-old victim in San Antonio and allegedly pointed a gun at her, forcing him into his car, with a press release at the time stating he allegedly told her, "If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you," per court documents.

Once inside, he told police that she told him her age and that she had a friend in Australia. Sablan said that he agreed to drop her off at a cruise ship to visit her friend, but allegedly told her "she had to do something for him first," according to the prosecution.

The victim was able to help herself when Sablan parked in a Long Beach, Calfornia parking lot in order to wash their clothes at a laundromat, as detailed by ABC affiliate KSAT.

It was while he was inside that the teen wrote 'Help Me" on a slip of paper inside the car and started showing it to passersby, per the outlet. One took notice and dialed 911.

When police arrived, they found Sablan standing outside the vehicle and the teen inside, per the USAO. Prosecutors said the victim mouthed the word "help" to them through the window.

Long Beach police quickly tracked down Sablan and took him into custody. Inside the car, they reported finding the note, a black BB gun, and a pair of handcuffs, according to the USAO, along with the girl they rescued.

"The 35-year sentence imposed ensures this defendant will not have the opportunity to victimize children," said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally in the USAO's statement after Sablan's sentencing. "There is nothing as important as protecting our young people. I commend our federal and local law enforcement partners for their efforts to secure justice here."