A member of the United States Air Force stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base has been sentenced to life in federal prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a minor. The announcement was made by Ryan Raybould, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Travis Robert Larson, 24, from Denton, Texas, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of enticement of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor. He was indicted in August 2025 and sentenced on February 27, 2026, by Chief United States District Judge Reed O’Connor.
Court documents reveal that on May 4, 2025, the Colorado Springs Police Department was notified by a father that his 14-year-old daughter was missing. The father had found messages on her phone indicating communication with Larson about traveling from Texas to Colorado to pick up the child and return with her to Texas.
Surveillance footage showed Larson picking up the girl—identified as “Minor Victim 1” in court records—and tracked his vehicle’s movement between Texas and Colorado Springs during the late hours of May 3 to May 4, 2025.
Records indicate that Larson was an active-duty Airman at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. On May 5, 2025, U.S. Air Force Security Forces located the child near Larson’s dormitory room on base. The child told authorities she began communicating online with Larson when she was around ten or eleven years old and had sent him explicit images at his request over several years until he arranged an in-person meeting.
The investigation determined that Larson traveled twice from Texas to Colorado Springs to meet the child for sex acts. In late April 2025 he picked her up from her home and took her to a park where he abused her; he repeated this behavior on May 3-4. Text messages showed Larson promising alcohol and expressing willingness to use violence if necessary.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 4, Larson picked up the girl from her residence and drove again to a park before taking her against her will back to Texas instead of returning her home. Surveillance video later placed them at Buc-ee’s gas station in Amarillo. That day, Larson hid the child in his car trunk while entering Sheppard AFB and concealed her inside his dormitory room where further abuse occurred until law enforcement intervened. Investigators searching his phone found notes confirming knowledge of the victim’s age.
The case involved cooperation among multiple agencies including the Colorado Springs Police Department, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety, and FBI Dallas Field Office – Wichita Falls Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allyson Monte and Stephen Rancourt prosecuted.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at http://www.justice.gov/psc.
