A Sheppard Air Force Base airman charged with trafficking of persons–child sexual conduct is accused of bringing a 14-year-old girl from her home in Colorado and having sex with her at a base dormitory, court records show.
Travis Robert Larson was being held Friday in Wichita County Jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.
According to an arrest affidavit, Air Force personnel found the alleged victim near Larson’s dormitory room in May. The affidavit lists Larson as a resident of Flower Mound, Texas.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The girl told investigators she had been communicating with Larson on Snapchat social media since she was 11 years old and that Larson traveled to Colorado Springs about May 6 and met with her, according to allegations in an affidavit.
She told investigators she objected to getting into his car, but he put his hands around her throat, according to allegations. She lost consciousness.
She told a forensic interviewer Larson took her to a park in Colorado Springs where they drank alcohol and afterward traveled south on an interstate highway as she sat in the backseat and continued to drink, according to allegations in an affidavit.
The girl told investigators she and Larson had sex in his dorm room at Sheppard, according to allegations.
In an interview with Air Force personnel, Larson denied communicating with the girl or traveling to Colorado, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit was filed by Texas Department of Public Safety Special Agent Jacob Weaver, who assisted in the investigation with SAFB investigators and the FBI.
Larson was booked into the Wichita County Jail on Wednesday, online jail records show.
The 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard issued a statement Thursday that said the base “is aware of an ongoing law enforcement investigation involving a Sheppard AFB Airman” and was cooperating with civilian authorities.
“We are glad to report the safe return of the young woman to her family,” 82 TRW Commander Brig. Gen. Paul Filcek said in the release. “We continue to cooperate with police in this matter. We expect our Airmen to uphold the highest standards of conduct and will hold accountable those who fail to do so.”
The SAFB release said prosecution was transferred to federal authorities, and the base would have no further comment.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: SAFB airman accused of having sex with 14-year-old in base dorm
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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