Just after midnight on Thursday morning the Stanton County Sheriff’s office was notified of a break-in and sexual assault that had just occurred at a rural residence in southern Stanton County north of Leigh. The report was that a male armed with a handgun had broken into the residence and sexually assaulted the female after tying her up and threatening to shoot her. After the attack the male stole the victim’s SUV and fled the area towards Hwy 32. Within ten minutes the vehicle was observed by the Sheriff’s office travelling east on Hwy 32 near the junction of Hwy 32 and 15. The vehicle was followed into Cuming County until a second unit was present and at that time emergency lights were activated and then the vehicle failed to stop and continued east as a pursuit was initiated and about two miles west of West Point, the Cuming County Sheriff’s office deployed a deflation device and the front left tire of the SUV was deflated. After another half mile the vehicle pulled onto the south shoulder and the lone male suspect fled south into a field through the passenger door leaving the vehicle in gear. A perimeter was set up by the Stanton and Cuming County Sheriff’s office along with the Nebraska State Patrol and at about 2:40 a.m. the suspect was taken into custody after he was found hiding on the top of a livestock trailer at a nearby farm residence. The suspect is identified as Gabriel Safty, 17, of rural Leigh and he was booked on felony charges that include: Burglary, Possession of Burglar Tools, False Imprisonment, First Degree Sexual Assault, Armed Robbery, Terroristic Threats, Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony, Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Operating a Motor Vehicle to Avoid Arrest. He was jailed at the JDC in Madison pending a detention hearing. The female victim was taken to FRHS by Creston Rescue for treatment. A handgun, knife and other items connected to the attack were seized during the arrest. The Dodge County Sheriff’s office also assisted with a K-9 unit as did Stanton County Emergency Management with a thermal drone that was deployed.
