A Texas airman was sentenced Friday to life in federal prison after admitting he kidnapped and repeatedly sexually abused a 14‑year‑old Colorado girl he had groomed online for years, prosecutors said.
Travis Robert Larson, 24, who was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, received the sentence from Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Larson pleaded guilty in November 2025 to enticement of a minor and sexual abuse of a minor, the office said.
Missing‑child report sparks investigation
Authorities said the case began in May 2025 when a Colorado Springs father reported his teen daughter missing and found messages showing Larson planned to take her to Texas. Investigators determined Larson had maintained online contact with the girl for several years, beginning when she was about 10 or 11, and had solicited sexually explicit images from her.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage and vehicle tracking showed Larson traveled from Texas to Colorado Springs and back during May 2025. The child told investigators he had traveled to Colorado Springs twice to meet her for sex, including an incident in late April.
Authorities said that on May 3-4, 2025, Larson picked her up again, sexually abused her at a park, then drove her to Texas against her will. Surveillance footage captured them at a Buc‑ee’s in Amarillo on May 4. Larson hid the child in his trunk to smuggle her onto base and sexually abused her multiple times in his dorm before USAF Security Forces recovered her on May 5.
A search of Larson’s phone revealed notes confirming he knew she was 14 years old, according to court documents.
Multi‑agency effort leads to prosecution
Colorado Springs police, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the FBI investigated the case, prosecutors said.
The prosecution was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative targeting child exploitation.
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