Fresno County Sheriff’s Department press release:
Denver law enforcement officials have arrested 40 year old Nathan Daniel Larson of Catlett,
Virginia. Larson is currently in the Denver County Jail facing a misdemeanor charge of
harboring a minor. However, he is also 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. Larson is scheduled to have a court hearing in Denver on
December 24th. During this time, an extradition request will be made to transport Larson to
the Fresno County Jail.
On the morning of Monday, December 14th, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and Fresno
Police Department received a report of a missing 12 year old Fresno girl. During the early
portion of the investigation, detectives developed information that the girl may have been
coerced into running away with an older man. A man she had met through social media in
mid-October. The information pointed to the girl possibly heading to Fresno Yosemite
International Airport to catch a cross-country flight to Virginia to be with this man. Due to
the nature of the circumstance of this case, detectives with the Central California Internet
Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force took over the investigation. Detectives received
assistance from members of Fresno Airport Police and Homeland Security Investigations
who revealed a man, later identified to be Nathan Larson, was seen with a young girl and
the two boarded a plane bound for Washington DC. This flight was scheduled to have a
layover in Denver, so detectives contacted law enforcement authorities there and asked that
they check the airport for Larson and the child. A Denver Police officer assigned to the
local FBI Task Force located Larson and arrested him. Agents rescued the girl, who was
uninjured, and made arrangements to have her reunited with her family in Fresno, which
she was later on Monday night.
Once in custody, detectives learned more about the how abduction took place. Larson flew
to Fresno from Virginia and then traveled to the girl’s home. He persuaded her to sneak out
of her house around 2:00 am. He used a ride share company to pick her up and together
they rode to the Fresno Airport. Larson made her wear a long hair wig to alter her
appearance. He also told her to act as though she was disabled and unable to speak to
ensure she would not converse with anyone at the airport while making their way onto the
airplane.
On December 17th, Fauquier County (VA) Sheriff’s detectives, agents with Homeland
Security Investigations and the Northern Virginia / District of Columbia Internet Crimes
Against Children Task Force seized electronic devices while executing a search warrant at
Larson’s home located on the 9200 block of Prospect Ave. in Catlett, VA. While at the
house, Larson’s father, 69 year old Arthur Larson, assaulted a HSI agent. He was arrested
for assault and battery and later released from jail after posting bond.
During the investigation, detectives uncovered Nathan Larson has a deeply disturbing
background. He has been married three times and has a young daughter. He is a white
supremacist and a well-known advocate for pedophilia. This is a man who runs a website,
which encourages the raping of children and sharing of naked photos and video of children
being raped. During the past two months, Larson was able to convince the Fresno girl,
through manipulation and grooming, to send him pornographic images of herself.
In 2017, Larson ran for political office as an independent, seeking to become a member of
the Virginia House of Delegates representing District 31. He went on to lose the race.
In December 2008, while living in Boulder, Colorado, Larson sent a detailed email to the U.S.
Secret Service threatening to kill the President of the United States. At the time, George
Bush was the outgoing president and Barack Obama was the incoming president. Larson
pleaded guilty in federal court. In October 2009, he was sentenced to 16 months in a federal
prison and wound up serving 14 months.
Due to the sophisticated nature of how Larson groomed this Fresno girl, detectives believe
he has victimized other children in the past, but those cases have never been reported to
law enforcement. If you or someone you know have ever had inappropriate contact with
Nathan Larson, you are asked to contact Fresno County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Brandon
Pursell at (559) 600-8029, [email protected] or Sergeant Chad Stokes at
(559) 600-8144, [email protected]
Law enforcement would like to remind the public to be vigilant when it comes to visiting
websites and social media outlets. Parents should also monitor their children’s internet
usage and be aware of the software apps they are using. Parents should keep the dialogue
open with their children in order to build trust. Online predators often pretend to be
someone else in order to lure their victims in and take advantage of them. 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. Report any suspicious behavior right away to law enforcement or file a
cyber tip through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
https://report.cybertip.org/ You may also contact HSI at (866) 347-2423.
ICAC is comprised of 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies spread
throughout nine counties in the Central Valley. It is dedicated to protecting children online
and investigating crimes committed against children, which are facilitated by the Internet
and computer usage
