SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- An Airman was sentenced to life in federal prison Feb. 27, following a guilty plea to abducting and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, officials said.
The airman, Travis Robert Larson, was assigned to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, when he was initially indicted in Aug. 2025 and pleaded guilty three months later to one count of enticement of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor.
According to court documents, the case began May 4, 2025, when a father reported his daughter missing to the Colorado Springs Police Department. The father located messages on the teen’s phone that indicated Larson had communicated with her and planned to travel from Texas to Colorado to pick her up.
From there, investigators obtained surveillance footage showing Larson with the girl and tracked his vehicle traveling overnight between Texas and Colorado, May 3-4, 2025. Prior to this, Larson, aware of the victim’s age, had communicated with the girl online for several years before arranging in-person meetings, according to prosecutors.
According to the Justice Department, after picking up the child during the early morning hours of May 4, Larson drove her back to Texas without returning to her home.
On May 5, 2025, members of the 82nd Security Forces Squadron, working in coordination with Special Agents from AFOSI Det. 411, located and safely recovered the child near Larson’s dorm room on base property.
During the investigation, Special Agents coordinated with local and federal authorities, including the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Investigators with AFOSI Det. 411’s Major Crimes team conducted numerous interviews and used multiple techniques during the case, said Special Agent Thomas Cauthen, the detachment’s commander.
Those techniques included closed-circuit television footage, license plate reader data, forensic DNA analysis, cell phone data, digital forensics, credit card transactions, military dorm access logs and fingerprint analysis, he said.
“Det. 411’s Major Crimes team leveraged investigative tools that reconstructed the suspect’s movements and corroborated the victim’s account,” Cauthen said. “The coordination between military, local and federal partners was instrumental in ensuring the child was safely recovered and the evidence was preserved for prosecution.”
Officials said the case underscores the risks minors face online. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, reports of online enticement rose sharply in recent years as children increasingly use digital platforms.
According to Cauthen, the case highlights the importance of proactive engagement in online safety.
“Special Agents see firsthand how offenders use digital platforms to groom and exploit minors,” Cauthen said. “Awareness and early intervention are critical to prevention. We urge families to remain engaged and proactive to best protect their children.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allyson Monte and Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case. The case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative launched in 2006 to combat child exploitation through coordinated federal, state and local enforcement efforts.