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Teen Allegedly Being Raped By Adoptive Dad Went To Another Man For Help, But He Had Other Ideas, Authorities Say
A Tennessee teen confided online to Bryan Rogers about being sexually abused by her adoptive father, but instead of helping her, Rogers convinced her to record it for his own purposes, authorities say.
It’s a story that keeps getting sadder.
What started off as a case of a missing Tennessee teen soon resulted in rape charges being filed against her adoptive father after she was located in Wisconsin. Now the man she met online and confided in about her father's alleged abuse has been charged with sexual exploitation for allegedly telling the teen to record herself getting raped by her parent.
Bryan Rogers, 31, (pictured, left) of Madison, Wisconsin allegedly met the victim “through an online game” after she “told him that she was being sexually assaulted,” according to a press release by the Western District of Wisconsin’s Department of Justice.
Instead of contacting authorities, Rogers “persuaded the minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, to make a video recording of the conduct, and send the video recording to him,” according to the press release.
Then, Rogers allegedly traveled to Tennessee and returned to Wisconsin with the girl. He allegedly brought her back to a home he shares with his mother.
Just last Thursday, the teen was discovered in Wisconsin. That same day, her adoptive father Randall Pruitt, 41, (pictured, right) was charged with rape, according to WVLT in Knoxville.
The girl had vanished from her family’s Madisonville home during the early morning hours of Jan. 14. After her disappearance, Pruitt made an emotional plea for her return and compared her being gone to “having your soul ripped out of your body," according to local Tennessee outlet WATE.
Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones said last week that the girl was attempting to flee what appeared to be a bad home situation.
Rogers has allegedly admitted to chatting with victim through the multiplayer online game "Roblox," as well as through Facebook and an encrypted messaging app, according to WVLT in Knoxville. He allegedly said that after picking the girl up he purposed avoided tollways and gas stations with surveillance cameras so that he couldn’t be traced. In addition to that, he allegedly smashed the victim's phone.
At some point while at Roger’s home, the teen contacted the FBI's office in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s not clear if that is the same FBI tip that led to the discovery of the teen.When law enforcement arrived at Roger’s home, he allegedly claimed she wasn’t there, but she was found hiding in a closet, according to WATE.
Rogers allegedly told investigators he didn’t send the video of the teen's rape to law enforcement because he didn’t think it would be permissible evidence in court.
Rogers has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child to produce a visual depiction.
If convicted, he will face a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.
The victim is reportedly safe, but not with family.
[Photos: Madison Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Office]
