MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — A Monroe County judge granted a man accused of raping his adopted 14-year-old daughter a $2 million bond on Tuesday.
Randall Lee Pruitt waived his right to a preliminary hearing in the case, while the judge issued a gag order for law enforcement and attorneys.
A grand jury could take up the case on May 13.
The teenage girl from Monroe County was missing for more than two weeks.
Evidence she provided to law enforcement led to the arrest of her adoptive father.
The 14-year-old was found safe in Wisconsin on Thursday, the same day that Randall Lee Pruitt was arrested and charged with raping her. 10News is no longer showing the photo of the missing girl or her name, as we do not identify potential victims in sexual assault crimes. However, Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones says she is doing well.
"She's in good health, she's safe, she's warm, she's been fed," he said.
According to the affidavit that led to Pruitt's arrest, the parents discovered the girl missing in the early morning hours of Monday, January 14. They went into her bedroom and discovered the window open and some clothing and her sheets missing.
During the investigation, according to the affidavit, investigators with the Monroe Co. Sheriff's Office, working with the FBI, obtained a search warrant for the teen's email and messaging records.
While going through those records, investigators discovered that several photos and a video of Pruitt having sex with the teen had been taken and sent to another individual.
Sheriff Tommy Jones told 10News that he believes that the teen ran away to get away from a bad situation at home. Authorities say she left Tennessee at an unknown time, her phone pinged in Kentucky, and she was finally found over two weeks later. The FBI Milwaukee office posted on its Twitter page that the teen was found safe at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Pruitt was being held without bond.
Jones did not provide any further details about how the teen was located, other than that she was safe, in custody, and had shelter. He also has not answered 10News questions yet as to how the girl made it to Wisconsin, what other charges might be filed or when she will be back in Tennessee.