Northern Utah man uses Snapchat to lure teen to his apartment, rape her, charges state

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SALT LAKE CITY — A man lured a juvenile girl to his apartment by posing as someone else on social media and then gagged and raped her, according to charging documents.

Tristan Todd Larson, 20, of North Logan, was charged Thursday in 1st District Court with rape of a child, a first-degree felony; drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, both class B misdemeanors.

On June 22, a 13-year-old girl received a message on Snapchat from someone she thought went to her school, according to a Cache County Jail booking report. The message asked the girl if she wanted to come over. The girl agreed and took a bus from Logan to North Logan.

The girl went to the door and knocked. But rather than a young female schoolmate, "she was confused and surprised that Tristan answered the door," according to the report. "Tristan pulled her into his apartment by her arm. Tristan then placed a red bandanna over her mouth and tied it around the back of her head."

Larson then took the girl into a bedroom and raped her, the report states.

The girl later told police that Larson was an acquaintance of one of her friends, and "this is how Tristan knew who she was and was pretending to be (another girl) on Snapchat to lure her to the apartment," according to the report.

When interviewed by detectives, Larson said the girl had never been in his room.

"When Tristan was asked how (the girl) was able to describe his room and items in his room, he invoked his right to an attorney," the report states.

Larson was arrested on Wednesday. Email: preavy@deseretnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam