LONG BEACH, Calif. — A 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas and sexually assaulted was rescued in Southern California when passersby saw her hold up a “help me” sign in a parked car, police and federal authorities said.
The rescue occurred July 9 in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, when officers responded to a trouble call and found the “visibly emotional and distressed girl,” police said in a news release.
“Through their investigation, officers learned the Good Samaritans were in a parking lot when they saw the victim in a parked vehicle holding up a piece of paper with ‘help me’ written on it. They acknowledged the note and immediately called 9-1-1,” police said.
U.S. Department of Justice via Associated Press
a 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas was rescued in Southern California on July 9 after holding up a “Help Me!” sign in a parked car, police said.
Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, was arrested and was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
Sablan was being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.
The girl was walking down a street in San Antonio, Texas, on July 6 when Sablan drove up, raised a black handgun and told her, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint.
According to the account, the girl had left home without telling her parents because she was attempting to visit a school friend who had moved to Australia a year earlier but kept in touch through an internet chatroom.
At some point after getting in Sablan’s car, the girl told him about her friend and Sablan said he could take her to a cruise ship to go to Australia, but that she would have to do something for him, the affidavit said.
The suspect stopped the car and sexually assaulted the girl, who told him to stop but was scared that she would be hurt if she did not comply, the agent wrote.
Sablan sexually assaulted the girl several more times on the drive from San Antonio through New Mexico and Arizona and into California, the affidavit said. Meanwhile, the girl’s mother reported her missing to San Antonio authorities on July 7.
In Long Beach, the suspect parked at a laundromat and told the girl to change her clothes, then took her clothes and his inside, creating the opportunity for the girl to write “help me” on a piece of note paper, according to the document.
When Long Beach police officers arrived, Sablan was standing outside the car and they observed the girl mouth the word “help,” the agent wrote.
During the arrest, officers found a pair of silver handcuffs in Sablan’s back pocket and that he was wanted for burglary in Fort Worth. A search of the vehicle turned up a black plastic BB gun, the “help me” sign, a switchblade knife and black handcuffs in packaging labeled “Fetish Fantasy Series Designer Cuffs,” the document said.
The affidavit said Sablan was convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon in 1979, robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary in 1985 and possession of a controlled substance in 2016.
The girl was placed in the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
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Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could run on batteries soon
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS
The Fort Worth-based airline will automatically search for seats together the day before departure if a family is traveling with children under 15 and if they do not already have seats assigned, according to the airline’s policy. If seats are limited, American will assign children seats next to at least one accompanying adult.
“It’s important all children are part of the same reservation as the parent(s) so our system recognizes that they are traveling together,” according to airline policy.
American advises people to arrive early and bring any required travel documents as you may have to provide proof of age for children under 18.
While at the boarding gate, families with children under 2 years old can ask to board early. Children older than 2 require their own tickets, and children under 5 cannot travel alone. Infants, or children under 2 years old, can travel at no additional cost on the lap of a parent.
Additionally, only one diaper bag is allowed per child. For more information about American Airlines policy, click here.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS
The Fort Worth-based airline will automatically search for seats together the day before departure if a family is traveling with children under 15 and if they do not already have seats assigned, according to the airline’s policy. If seats are limited, American will assign children seats next to at least one accompanying adult.
“It’s important all children are part of the same reservation as the parent(s) so our system recognizes that they are traveling together,” according to airline policy.
American advises people to arrive early and bring any required travel documents as you may have to provide proof of age for children under 18.
While at the boarding gate, families with children under 2 years old can ask to board early. Children older than 2 require their own tickets, and children under 5 cannot travel alone. Infants, or children under 2 years old, can travel at no additional cost on the lap of a parent.
Additionally, only one diaper bag is allowed per child. For more information about American Airlines policy, click here.
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Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could run on batteries soon
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines famously operates on an open seating basis, allowing passengers to pick their seats when boarding the aircraft.
“Open seating provides a great opportunity for families or groups traveling together to sit together on the aircraft,” Southwest spokesman Chris Perry said. “Customers traveling on the same reservation receive boarding positions adjacent to one another upon check-in.”
The airline’s boarding groups, A, B and C, are based on check-in time, loyalty participation in its Rapid Rewards program or through purchase of products such as early bird or upgraded boarding, he said. Check-in begins 24 hours prior to a flight’s departure.
Up to two adults traveling with children 6 years old or younger may board during family boarding, between the A and B boarding groups, Perry said.
He also encourages families to speak with a customer service agent at the gate and with flight attendants after boarding for additional accommodations.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines famously operates on an open seating basis, allowing passengers to pick their seats when boarding the aircraft.
“Open seating provides a great opportunity for families or groups traveling together to sit together on the aircraft,” Southwest spokesman Chris Perry said. “Customers traveling on the same reservation receive boarding positions adjacent to one another upon check-in.”
The airline’s boarding groups, A, B and C, are based on check-in time, loyalty participation in its Rapid Rewards program or through purchase of products such as early bird or upgraded boarding, he said. Check-in begins 24 hours prior to a flight’s departure.
Up to two adults traveling with children 6 years old or younger may board during family boarding, between the A and B boarding groups, Perry said.
He also encourages families to speak with a customer service agent at the gate and with flight attendants after boarding for additional accommodations.
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Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could run on batteries soon
United Airlines suggests passengers book and select seat assignments early to have the best chance to have a child under 15 years of age seated with an accompanying adult. Additional charges may apply.
“If it’s important for your family to sit together, you may want to consider purchasing advance seat assignments, if available, or selecting a different fare option,” according to the website.
If seats are not selected in advance, the airline will try to find adjoining seats for those on the same reservation prior to departure. But the airline warned that families may be split up.
If passengers would like to sit with a child booked on a separate reservation, they can call the United Customer Contact Center at 1-800-864-8331.
“While we strive to seat your family together, seat selections are not guaranteed and may be changed, including in the event of an aircraft substitution,” according to the website.
United Airlines suggests passengers book and select seat assignments early to have the best chance to have a child under 15 years of age seated with an accompanying adult. Additional charges may apply.
“If it’s important for your family to sit together, you may want to consider purchasing advance seat assignments, if available, or selecting a different fare option,” according to the website.
If seats are not selected in advance, the airline will try to find adjoining seats for those on the same reservation prior to departure. But the airline warned that families may be split up.
If passengers would like to sit with a child booked on a separate reservation, they can call the United Customer Contact Center at 1-800-864-8331.
“While we strive to seat your family together, seat selections are not guaranteed and may be changed, including in the event of an aircraft substitution,” according to the website.
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Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could run on batteries soon
Delta Air Lines directs people to contact Delta Reservations if traveling with children older than 2 and if families want seats together.
Additionally, in 2019, Delta launched a dynamic seat map, which “helps ensure more families are able to sit together based on data from certain routes and flight schedules.”
The airline blocks rows for groups of three or more passengers on a single reservation.
“Delta works closely with our Advisory Board on Disability that provides guidance for ongoing education and investments to ensure an accessible travel experience,” a Delta representative said in a statement. “We have also created innovative seat map displays that provide seating choices in all cabins for customers traveling alone, or with others — including children.”
Delta Air Lines directs people to contact Delta Reservations if traveling with children older than 2 and if families want seats together.
Additionally, in 2019, Delta launched a dynamic seat map, which “helps ensure more families are able to sit together based on data from certain routes and flight schedules.”
The airline blocks rows for groups of three or more passengers on a single reservation.
“Delta works closely with our Advisory Board on Disability that provides guidance for ongoing education and investments to ensure an accessible travel experience,” a Delta representative said in a statement. “We have also created innovative seat map displays that provide seating choices in all cabins for customers traveling alone, or with others — including children.”
