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Man accused of kidnapping 8-year-old in Fort Worth now faces federal charge

Fort Worth police found Salem Sabatka at WoodSpring Suites Fort Worth Hotel in Forest Hill.

FORT WORTH, Texas —

Editor's note: Due to the nature of this crime and the fact that the victim is a minor, WFAA will no longer show Salem Sabatka’s picture.

Updated at 2:14 p.m. with details from federal court hearing. 

The man accused of taking 8-year-old Salem Sabatka while she was walking with her mother Saturday in a Fort Worth neighborhood now faces a federal kidnapping charge. 

Michael Webb, 51, already faced a state charge of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, before he was transferred to federal custody Tuesday. 

Webb is accused of grabbing the 8-year-old girl away from her mother Saturday afternoon. The child was found about eight hours later at a Forest Hill hotel. 

Federal magistrate Judge Jeffery Cureton did not read aloud the charges against Webb during a hearing Tuesday afternoon. 

The judge called Webb a "flight risk" and a "danger to the community." 

The hearing lasted several minutes. Webb was appointed a public defender. 

Credit: Gary Myrick
Michael Webb appeared Tuesday in federal court. The magistrate judge did not read Webb's charges in court.

He was shackled in court and appeared to glare at authorities while the judge spoke. 

A probable cause hearing in Webb's case has been set for 2 p.m. June 4. 

Webb had been held in Tarrant County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail before he was transferred into federal custody around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Fort Worth police said the kidnapping appears to have been random when she was snatched off the street as she walked with her mom around 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a Fort Worth neighborhood.

Fort Worth police found the child at WoodSpring Suites Fort Worth Hotel in Forest Hill. 

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