A Wisconsin man is accused of sexual exploitation of a child after a U.S. attorney said he knowingly persuaded a 14-year-old Tennessee girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce video evidence of it, WATE reported.
According to court records, Bryan David Rogers, 31, of Madison, transported the girl last month from her Madisonville, Tennessee, home to his home, WBIR reported. He had been communicating with her for weeks through an online game, the television station reported.
The girl, who had been missing from her home since Jan. 13, was found in Wisconsin on Jan. 31, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Rogers appeared in U.S. District Court in Madison on Monday. He was arrested in Dane County the day the teen was found, the television station reported.
If convicted, Rogers faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison, WATE reported.
According to an affidavit, Rogers met the girl online playing Roblox, and the teen told him she was being sexually assaulted, WBIR reported.
The affidavit then said Rogers convinced the girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct and make a video recording, which she then sent to Rogers via email, the television station reported. Rogers then allegedly came to Tennessee and took the girl to Wisconsin, the television station reported.
According to prosecutors, text messages show Rogers explaining how the teen could record the alleged assault.
"And I know you don't want to do it but I don't exactly want to see your dad rape you either. But we need clear video evidence," Rogers said in one text, according to the affidavit. "But understand that I can get in a hell of a lot of trouble for harboring you Unless you can prove what he did they will just release you back to him if we get caught."
The video, which ran 7 minutes, 10 seconds, was later found on Rogers' computer, WBIR reported.
Randall Lee Pruitt, 41, the teen's adoptive father, was arrested and charged with rape in the missing teen's case, WATE reported. An arrest warrant alleges that videos of Pruitt engaging in sexual activity with the girl were found on her phone.
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