BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — The sentencing of a Santa Ana man accused of kidnapping a Bakersfield girl has been suspended while the court evaluates his mental competency.
Court records show that sentencing for 20-year-old Sergio Estrada was set for today, but the case has been moved to a competency hearing on May 13.
Last month, Estrada pleaded no contest to child stealing and meeting a minor for lewd purposes.
The case dates back to June 11, 2025, when, at around 3 a.m., Kern County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 2400 block of Kentucky Street for a report of a missing minor. Deputies learned a 14-year-old girl had been missing from the home for two days.
The girl’s mother told deputies she was concerned for her daughter. She believed the teen was possibly involved in a romantic or intimate relationship with an older man she met through Fortnite.
KCSO detectives determined Estrada was believed to have possibly fled with the juvenile to Santa Ana. Estrada had been talking with the teen for two years on social media platforms, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said.
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Estrada was later determined to be at an unknown home in the unincorporated area of east Bakersfield. He was found walking with the teen near an apartment complex and was arrested. The girl was later returned safely to her parents.