Authorities in Nevada report that a man who claimed to be affiliated with “the Cartel” abducted three boys from a park, took them to his residence, assaulted them, and forced them into a crawl space.

The suspect, identified as Guillermo Aboytes Saavedra, 23, is facing multiple charges, including robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and child abuse. The events transpired around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, following a call to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office from a victim’s sister, who had learned that her brother was being threatened, according to a press release. The deputies were dispatched to the 200 block of Johnson Lane in Fernley, approximately 30 miles east of Reno.

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As deputies arrived, the dispatch center began receiving calls from the victim, reporting that he and two other boys had been kidnapped and confined in a crawl space. Using the boy’s phone signal, deputies initiated a search of the area. By shortly before 7 p.m., they discovered the suspect’s residence and successfully liberated the boys from the crawl space.

Two of the boys suffered “substantial injuries” after Saavedra allegedly beat them with a wooded rake handle and scythe. The boys later told cops they were on the swings at a park when the suspect “came out of nowhere” with his fists balled up. He told the boys he “was a member of the Cartel.” Saavedra then allegedly slapped one of the boys in the face and said “he was not scared of jail and if he went to jail, he was going to kill them.”

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“The juvenile stated that Saavedra then told them they were going to go for a walk and to act normal and not look at any cars,” cops wrote.

He forced them down an alleyway before making them hop a fence that led to his backyard, cops said. Saavedra allegedly made one of the juveniles record him as he beat the teens. They were “continually removed from the crawl space and beaten,” police said.