WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - A Sheppard Force Base airman, Travis Robert Larson, was jailed after being arrested for allegedly human trafficking a child.

One anti-human trafficking advocate said it’s crucial never to suppress these types of incidents.

The affidavit lists official offenses as trafficking a person, child sexual conduct, and Larson engaging with a minor on social media.

Advocates at Southern Grit share their mission to dismantle human trafficking.

“This is a crime, and you’re not going to get away with it, and that’s not how to be a leader, that’s not how to be a hero,” Southern Grit Executive Director Vicky Payne said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, child trafficking is a pervasive and underreported crime, and one of the most complex forms of child exploitation. Perpetrators predominantly target those between the ages of 14 and 17 years old.

“They have altered the life of that child forever because it causes trauma,” she said.

In the affidavit issued by Wichita County, active duty airmen Travis Robert Larson of Flower Mound was accused of child sexual conduct and contacting a minor.

“Predators find their victims on social media because it’s so easy. They can pretend to be something they’re not,” Payne said.

“And then they ask for inappropriate images from the youth. When they get that, imagine that the relationship changes to blackmail, extortion, either give me more images, meet me, or pay me,” Payne said.

He began texting the girl when she was 11 years old according to the affidavit. On May 6, Larson traveled to Colorado Springs to meet the now 14-year-old in the park.

“The local man, the airman, he probably thought by going across state lines, and getting a teenager, he was protecting himself. Why, I added more charges to him self going across state lines,” She said.

He allegedly gave the 14-year-old alcohol and encouraged the victim to move locations, bringing her to Sheppard Air Force Base and having sex with her in his dorm.

“He gave her alcohol to reduce her capacity to protect herself, and that happens very often, people use alcohol or drugs to control the person,” Payne said.

During a forensic interview with the 14-year-old, she stated Larson placed his hands around her throat when she refused to leave with him in his vehicle.

“The fact that someone does a physical act to control someone, that’s actually a violent crime,” Payne said.

“The kids, teens, youth, they need to go to a trusted adult and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on, what do I need to do about it’,” she said.

Larson is being held on a $500,000 bond for a charge of trafficking a child, according to county jail records.

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