Pittsburgh-area man, 26, surrenders on charges of kidnapping girl, 14, he met on MySpace

Pa. man accused of MySpace kidnapping of girl, 14

CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. — A Pittsburgh-area man has surrendered to state police on charges of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl for about two days after meeting her on MySpace.

Police say 26-year-old Richard Sabatasse (sah-bah-TAH-see), of Mount Lebanon, communicated with the girl for weeks before picking her up in Connellsville on May 13.

The girl says Sabatasse refused to let her make phone calls or give her food while they traveled in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia before he dropped her at home Sunday morning.

Sabatasse is jailed but had been free while awaiting sentencing for corruption of minors and indecent assault in a 2006 case involving a 15-year-old girl.

Sabatasse told a WPXI-TV reporter he hopes the media follow his case to the very end.