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Of
United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Name: John R. Larson
Case: United States v. John R. Larson No. 07-0263
Date Of Conviction: 2006
Plea: Not Guilty
Charges: Attempted Indecent Acts With A Minor and others, see below
Military Branch: Air Force
Listed In National Sex Offenders Registry? NO
Judge RYAN delivered the opinion of the Court. A general court-martial composed of officer members
convicted Appellant, contrary to his pleas, of one specification each of attempted carnal knowledge and attempted indecent acts with a minor, violations of Article 80, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 880 (2000); one specification of violating a lawful general regulation, a violation of Article
92, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 892 (2000); and one specification each of communicating indecent language and using a facility or means of interstate commerce to attempt to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, violations of Article 134, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 934 (2000).
The members sentenced Appellant to dismissal from the service, confinement for nine years, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. The convening authority approved the dismissal and forfeitures, but reduced Appellant’s confinement to six years. The United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. United States v. Larson, 64 M.J. 559 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2006).
Appellant used the government computer in his military office to obtain sexually explicit material, to include
pornographic images and video, from the Internet and to initiate instant message conversations with “Kristin,” someone he believed to be a fourteen-year-old girl. “Kristin” was actually a civilian police detective working to catch online sexual predators.
Civilian police and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) cooperated in the investigation of
Appellant. The police used a proposed meeting between Appellant and “Kristin” at a local mall as a sting operation. When Appellant arrived at the mall at the time he had arranged with “Kristin,” the police arrested Appellant. While conducting a search incident to arrest the police discovered a receipt for a package of condoms purchased just fifteen minutes earlier in Appellant’s pocket. During a consensual search of Appellant’s car, police found a package of condoms and a book entitled Sexaholics Anonymous.
After Appellant’s arrest, AFOSI continued to pursue its own investigation. Appellant’s commander, using a master key to the government office occupied by Appellant, allowed AFOSI agents to enter and to seize the government computer in the office. A search of the computer’s hard drive revealed stored pornographic material, a web browser history that showed Appellant visited pornographic websites and engaged in sexually explicit chat sessions in his office on his government computer, and other electronic data implicating Appellant in the charged offenses.
When Appellant logged on to the computer, he was required to click a button accepting conditions listed in a banner, which stated that the computer was Department of Defense property, was for official use, and that he consented to monitoring. The military judge found that, while Appellant “reasonably understood that he was allowed to send personal e-mail or visit the internet as long as it didn’t interfere with [his] duties,” this did not change the fact that the government owned the computer and had a right to access it.
The evidence supporting the charged offenses was overwhelming. The prosecution presented pornographic material taken from Appellant’s computer, sexually explicit chat sessions between Appellant and an individual who said she was underage, Appellant’s online profile, which included his picture, testimony that showed Appellant was apprehended at a rendezvous based on a meeting set up in the aforementioned chat sessions, and evidence that Appellant had purchased a package of condoms only fifteen minutes before the meeting.
An Unofficial Site
Of United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
John R. Larson
Major U.S. Air Force
Convicted Sex Offender
Attempted Indecent Acts With A Minor
