MIAMI – A 20-year-old man accused of taking his 16-year-old girlfriend to New York City may escape jail time.
Fabel Escalante appeared in court in Miami Monday morning where he was placed into a pretrial intervention program. If he completes it within a year the state will dismiss the charges against him.
Recommended Videos
According to police, Samantha Delgado, a student at Coral Gables Senior High School, was reported missing Dec. 19.
She was found with Escalante a month later after police pulled the stolen car they were in over in New York City.
Her parents initially feared that Escalante, a former neighbor, kidnapped her, but they later said she ran away with him. They told Local 10 News that the relationship was no longer forbidden and they just wanted her to come home.
Police said Escalante was taken into custody without incident, and Delgado was reunited with her family.
Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10