Alleged white supremacist pedophile coming back to Fresno County on child kidnap charges
A 40-year-old Virginia man, who is facing kidnapping and sex crime charges involving a 12-year-old girl in Fresno, is being extradited from Denver to Fresno County.
Nathan Larson, an admitted pedophile, was arrested at the Denver International Airport on Dec. 19 in what police believe was a scheme to take the child with him to Catlett, Virginia, where he lives.
At the time of his arrest, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims described Larson as a “white supremacist and a well-known advocate for pedophilia.” She also said he runs a website that “encourages the raping of children and sharing of naked photos and videos of children being raped.”
Investigators allege Larson used social media for more than two months to groom the child, ultimately convincing her to join him on the East Coast. But his plan fell apart after the parents of the child reported her missing.
Law enforcement agencies in several states worked to track Larson and the child down. They found them at the Denver airport, where he was arrested and booked in the Denver County jail on a misdemeanor charge of harboring a minor. The child was returned to her parents.
Although Larson was scheduled to appear before a judge on Jan. 28 to discuss his extradition, he waived his right to a hearing and will be brought back to Fresno, said Jerry Stanley, spokesman for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.
Stanley said he did not have a firm date as to when Larson will appear before a Fresno County Superior Court judge for arraignment.
Larson is charged with five felonies including kidnapping, child abduction, soliciting child pornography from a minor and meeting a child with the intention of sex.
If convicted, he faces life in state prison, with the possibility of parole.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
