Vallejo man sentenced to 5 years for flying to the Philippines for child sex

Balbino Sablad, 81, of Vallejo, was sentenced on Thursday, October 20, at U.S. District Court in Sacramento to five years and 10 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $3,500 for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to evidence, in 2019, Sablad flew to the Philippines with the intention of engaging in sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16. Using Facebook, Sablad had engaged in sexual chats with a person he believed was the intended minor victim, and he sent the intended minor victim over $2,000 prior to his travel to the Philippines.

Before he arrived, he also discussed with a co-conspirator his plan to sexually abuse the intended minor victim in the Philippines.

“Today’s sentence reflects the disturbing lengths the defendant was willing to go to engage in sexual acts with a child,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. “Our office is committed to doing everything we can to help ensure that children are protected from future crimes by predators like the defendant.”

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosanne Rust prosecuted the case.