California authorities rescued a 12-year-old girl from an admitted pedophile, who was trying to abduct her. The kidnapper named Nathan Larson, who ran for Congress twice, was arrested on the charges of child abduction, child pornography, and meeting a minor with the intention of sex from the Denver International Airport on December 14 when he was trying to fly to Virginia.
Larson, 40, a resident of Catlett, Virginia convinced the minor girl to come with him to his home state. He had preyed on the girl for two months on social media before asking her to send inappropriate images of her. Police believe that Larson convinced the girl to leave her home in Fresno at 2 AM and booked a ride-share cab to the airport. Larson then forced her to act like a disabled person who could not speak and wear a wig to disguise her.
As they boarded a plane to Washington DC, the flight had a layover in Denver from where authorities arrested Larson and rescued the girl. She was found unharmed. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said her department collaborated with various law enforcement agencies to save the girl, who was reunited with her family.
"This particular case is extremely disturbing and very far-reaching. In the last two months, Larson was able to convince the Fresno girl, through manipulation and grooming, to send him pornographic images of herself," Mims told the media on Saturday, December 19.
Disturbing History
However, this is not the first time that Larson has committed a crime. In December 2008, he sent a letter to the Secret Service, threatening to kill either of outgoing President George W Bush or the incoming President Barack Obama. He was arrested and sentenced to 16 months in prison.
During the investigation, police also uncovered that he was a well-known advocate of pedophilia and also a white supremacist who idolized Adolf Hitler. Larson also ran a website encouraging sharing child pornography and raping children. Mims believes the Fresno girl may not be the only victim due to the sophistication of how Larson groomed the 12-year-old. But as no one else has reported any such crime, it remains an assumption.
"It is obvious that Larson had the ability to be in contact with children across the nation, and the willingness and the means to travel to abduct them. We believe that there are other victims out there," Mims said, urging other victims to step forward and report against Larson.
Running for Office
Before his arrest in 2009, Larson ran for Congress from Virginia's 1st district as a Libertarian candidate but lost the election. After his release, he tried once again in 2017 for Virginia House of Delegates, albeit unsuccessfully, receiving just 481 votes as an independent candidate. He was expelled from the Libertarian party in 2017.
However, it was during the 2018 Congressional election that his name came to the spotlight. As he ran a second time for Congress, this time from the 10th district, Larson gave an interview to the Washington Post that caught attention. Larson said he was in favor of abolishing age restriction for marriage and decried laws against marital rape while supported incest in the context of marriage. He even said that he believed in instituting a patriarchal system with men ruling over women.
During the interview, he even supported the Taliban system in Afghanistan and said that due to increased opportunities for women, the country's birth rate fell. If you are already disgusted, there's more. Larson's support for white supremacy also came to light. He said he believed "white supremacy is a system that works" and Hitler was a "good thing for Germany". He withdrew from the Congressional race later.
If convicted, Larson may face jail time up to 30 years. Apart from that, he will face additional charges for the intention to kidnap the girl, child abduction and meeting a minor with an intention to have sex.
