Sentencing delayed for Moroni man convicted in child abduction case

MANTI—Sentencing for a Moroni man convicted in the 2025 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl has been postponed until Aug. 12.

The delay was granted Wednesday, July 15, by 6th District Judge Robert Van Dyke in Manti.

Aiden Dramore Larsen, 20, was convicted of first-degree felony rape of a child, second-degree felony child kidnapping and second-degree felony theft by receiving a firearm or operable motor vehicle.

The convictions stem from the October 2025 disappearance of a 12-year-old Chester girl that prompted an extensive search involving multiple law enforcement agencies and ended with a high-speed chase in Sevier County.

During the July 15 hearing, the victim’s mother delivered victim impact statements on behalf of both herself and her daughter.

In the statement read by her mother, the girl said Larsen “stole my life, my happiness, my trust, and my self-love.” She also told the court, “I’m not sure if I will ever be able to be fully okay again.”

Addressing the court herself, the girl’s mother described the lasting impact on her family.

“Our family will be forever marked, forever changed,” she said.

She also urged the court to impose a sentence that would protect others.

“I ask that the judge use his best discretion to keep this man away from the public, to keep any other individual safe from him,” she said.

Court documents state the girl was reported missing Oct. 13, 2025. Investigators determined Larsen took the victim’s grandfather’s truck, met the girl in Sanpete County and traveled to Payson before continuing south into Sevier County.

Authorities located the stolen truck near Richfield and attempted to stop it, but Larsen fled. The pursuit continued through Elsinore and Monroe at speeds exceeding 100 mph before reaching Clear Creek Canyon. Troopers used spike strips to disable the vehicle near the Sevier RV Park.

After abandoning the truck, Larsen ran from the scene but was later found hiding beneath a structure near a river and taken into custody. The girl was recovered without physical injury.

Larsen was first arrested on charges connected to the pursuit, including failure to obey police commands and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors later filed additional felony charges related to the abduction and sexual assault.

According to court records, the original case filed Oct. 14, 2025, included charges of child kidnapping, theft by receiving a motor vehicle and rape of a child. Prosecutors later amended the information to add additional counts of rape of a child, sexual exploitation of a minor and enticing a minor.

An investigation found Larsen had been communicating secretly with the girl for weeks before the abduction after she obtained a cellphone without her mother’s knowledge. Authorities also determined he had taught the girl to drive, allowing her to take her grandfather’s truck and travel to meet him.

Larsen’s sentencing is now set for Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. in 6th District Court in Manti.