In federal court, Vallejo man, 80, pleads guilty to intent of having sex with a child

US Attorney in SacramentoS: Court records show Balbino G. Sablad flew to the Philippines for the purpose of having sex with a minor under age 16

An 80-year-old Vallejo man pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal courtroom to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a child, a U.S. Attorney in Sacramento said.

According to court documents, in 2019 Balbino Guerrero Sablad flew to the Philippines with the intention of having sex 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 more than $2,000 before he traveled to the western Pacific island nation. Before he arrived, he also discussed with a co-conspirator his plan to sexually abuse the intended minor victim there, said Phillip A. Talbert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosanne Rust is prosecuting the case.

Sablad's sentencing hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Aug. 1.

Sablad, who remains in Sacramento County Jail, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court and the federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The case stems from part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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