Police arrest man accused of pedophilia at Denver airport for allegedly kidnapping 12-year-old girl from California
Authorities arrested a former Boulder resident this week who they say is a white supremacist and well-known advocate of pedophilia at Denver International Airport for allegedly kidnapping a 12-year-old girl from Fresno, California.
Denver Jail booking photo
Nathan Daniel Larson, 40, of Catlett, Virginia, was arrested at Denver International Airport after allegedly kidnapping a 12-year-old girl from Fresno, California. He is facing felony charges in Fresno County for kidnapping, child abduction, soliciting child pornography from a minor and meeting a child for the intention of sex.
A local, state and federal investigation led police to Nathan Daniel Larson, 40, who lives in Catlett, Virginia. Larson unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017. He also served 14 months in federal prison after sending an email to the U.S. Secret Service in December 2008 while living in Boulder, threatening to kill the president.
Larson runs a website that encourages raping children and sharing the images and photos, according to the Fresno Sheriff’s Office. He had been grooming the 12-year-old girl for two months, meeting her through social media, the sheriff’s office said in a news release Saturday. The child was reported missing Monday.
Police believe he coerced the young girl into running away with him, and they said Larson flew from Virginia to Fresno to pick her up at about 2 a.m. They then used a ride share to go to the Fresno airport where Larson allegedly forced the girl to wear a wig and told her to act like she had a disability and couldn’t talk so she wouldn’t speak to anyone as they headed to Washington, D.C. on a flight with a layover in Denver.
Fresno detectives contacted law enforcement in Denver, and a Denver police officer assigned to the local FBI task force arrested Larson at DIA. Authorities also rescued the young girl and reunited her with her family Monday night, according to the sheriff’s office. She was not injured.
Larson is being held in the Denver County jail on suspicion of misdemeanor harboring a minor and he faces felony charges in Fresno County on suspicion of kidnapping, child abduction, soliciting child pornography from a minor and meeting a child for the intention of sex, the sheriff’s office stated. Larson has a hearing scheduled on Thursday in Denver, and Fresno police plan to request that authorities extradite Larson to Fresno.
Virginia and federal law enforcement searched Larson’s home on Thursday in Virginia where they said Larson’s dad, 69-year-old Arthur Larson, assaulted a Homeland Security Investigations agent. He was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery.
Investigators said they believe that Larson has abused other children in the past because of how he groomed the 12-year-old girl and ask that anyone who has information about inappropriate contact with Larson contact Fresno County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Brandon Pursell by phone at 559-600-8029 or email at brandon.pursell@fresnosheriff.org, or Sergeant Chad Stokes by phone at 559-600-8144 or email at chad.stokes@fresnosheriff.org.
Authorities also encourage parents to keep an eye on their children’s internet use, including applications, and to have conversations with their children to build trust. “Online predators often pretend to be someone else in order to lure their victims in and take advantage of them,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Teach children to be wary of the person on the other end of the chat line; many times people are not who they say they are.”
Police ask that suspicious activity be reported immediately to law enforcement, through a cyber tip with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at report.cybertip.org or by contacting Homeland Security Investigations at 866-347-2423.
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