A Good Samaritan from Long Beach is being hailed as a hero after coming to the aid of a young girl who was allegedly kidnapped, repeatedly raped and taken from Texas to California.
Touch Vong believes it was an act of God that the 13-year-old victim and her alleged captor walked into the laundromat where she works on July 9.
The suspect, later identified as Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, asked Vong about a nearby restaurant’s hours. Despite knowing it was closed for the day, something told her to tell the man to stay in the parking lot.
“God let me know…that’s why I stopped him,” Vong told KTLA 5’s Ellina Abovian on Friday. “Because I know the restaurant wasn’t open [on Sundays], but I said wait until 11 so they open.”
“If I didn’t say that…she might be gone,” Vong said.
Vong says Sablan and the girl spent time in the laundromat washing and drying their clothes. At one point, the girl, who Vong said looked “very frightened,” went to wait outside in the car.
While she was in the car, she was able to scribble the words “Help me!” on a piece of paper and stick it to the window. Another woman passing by acknowledged the note and informed law enforcement.
Upon arriving on the scene, authorities arrested Sablan. A BB gun, a pair of handcuffs and the note were found in his vehicle.
Federal prosecutors say Sablan abducted the girl at gunpoint while she was walking down a street in San Antonio, Texas on July 6.
According to court documents, Sablan promised to take the girl to visit her friend in Australia. Instead, he repeatedly sexually assaulted her as they made their way from Texas to California.
Sablan is charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. If convicted of both charges, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The FBI is aiding law enforcement agencies from Long Beach and Cleburne, Texas in the investigation.