Madison Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years for Bringing Minor Across State Lines for Sex

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MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that today Bryan Rogers, 32, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 135 months in federal prison for transporting a minor from Tennessee to Wisconsin for an illegal sexual purpose.  This prison term will be followed by 15 years of supervised release.  Rogers pleaded guilty to this offense on June 19, 2019.

Rogers came into contact with the minor in Tennessee through an online game.  She told him that she was being sexually assaulted by an adult on a daily basis.  Rogers persuaded the minor to make a video recording of an assault and send it to him, allegedly so he could provide evidence to law enforcement of the sexual assaults.  The minor did not want to produce the video, but eventually acquiesced after Rogers said he would come rescue her after she made the video.

After the minor sent the video of her abuse to Rogers, he then traveled to Tennessee and returned to Wisconsin with the minor.  The minor was reported missing on January 14, 2019. Subsequent investigation led to Rogers, and he was questioned on January 31, 2019.  When questioned by law enforcement, he admitted he had been in contact with the victim online and that she had disclosed her sexual assault, but claimed he never met her in person, he did not go to Tennessee to get her, and he did not know her whereabouts.  During a search of his home, officers found the victim in a closet.  The victim told investigators Rogers had picked her up in Tennessee and brought her to Wisconsin, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with her.  The victim stated that during her two weeks in Wisconsin, she hid in Rogers’ closet or in the trunk of his car while he was at work.        

“The actions of this defendant are abhorrent. Instead of immediately contacting law enforcement, Rogers encouraged the child victim to produce a video of the sexual abuse, and after claiming to rescue her, he himself sexually assaulted her,” said U.S. Attorney Blader.  “My office is committed to working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to bring interstate child predators to justice.”

Judge Conley noted that Rogers targeted an extremely vulnerable victim and could have been a hero in this case by reporting the victim’s abuse to authorities; instead Rogers did not help her and further victimized her.

The charge against Rogers is the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Madison Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Monroe County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger.