Court date reset for man, 80, in minor sex case

Proceedings have been rescheduled in a federal case involving an 80-year-old Vallejo man charged with traveling to the Philippines with the intent to have illicit sex with a child and conspiring to do the same.

Balbino Guerrero Sablad, indicted July 15 by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, was scheduled for a status conference Jan. 13; however, the judge postponed the matter until March 17, court records show. Sablad remains in custody without bail in Sacramento County Jail.

According to court documents, in 2019 Sablad flew to the western Pacific island nation with the intention of engaging in sexual conduct with a child younger than 16, said Phillip A. Talbert, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.

Sablad is alleged to have engaged in sexual chats with the intended victim over Facebook and had sent her at least $1,800 before he traveled to the Philippines. He allegedly also had discussed with a coconspirator his plan to sexually abuse the victim once he got there, noted Talbert.

Sablad, who requires a Tagalog interpreter during court proceedings, was arrested July 1 by FBI agents in Sacramento and has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set. His attorney is Public Defender Hannah Rose Labaree.

If convicted at trial, Sablad faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, will be determined at the judge’s discretion and federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Talbert said the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit Usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.