Texas airman sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, sexually abusing child
An airman stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls admitted to kidnapping a Colorado teenager and bringing her back onto the base to sexually abuse her, U.S. attorneys said.
Travis Robert Larson, 24, of Denton, was sentenced to life in federal prison on Friday in the case, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. Larson pleaded guilty last November to one count of enticement of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor.
The 14-year-old girl’s father reported her missing in May 2025, and told authorities he had found messages on his daughter’s phone between her and Larson, according to court documents. In the messages, Larson discussed driving to Colorado Springs to pick up the girl and take her back to Texas.
Police found surveillance footage of Larson picking up the 14-year-old and tracked his vehicle as it traveled from Texas to Colorado Springs and back on the night before she was reported missing, according to the news release.
On May 5, the U.S. Air Force Security Forces Squadron recovered the girl near Larson’s dorm room on the base, officials said.
The victim later disclosed that Larson began communicating with her when she was 10 or 11, and that she would send Larson explicit videos and photos of herself when he requested them, according to the statement.
The girl also told authorities that Larson had traveled to Colorado Springs to sexually abuse her twice before the occasion where he took her back to Texas, according to court documents. Text messages between the two indicate that Larson promised to buy her alcohol and that he would resort to violence to coerce her into sex, if necessary.
Around 3:30 a.m. on May 4, Larson picked the girl up at her Colorado Springs home and took her to a park to rape her, officials said. Instead of driving her back to her residence, he took her against her will back to Wichita Falls, where he hid her in the trunk of his car to sneak her onto the base. He sexually abused her multiple times before she was recovered by law enforcement, according to the statement.
A search of Larson’s phone indicated that Larson knew the girl was 14 years old, officials said.
