MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. — A Morgan County man will spend close to three decades in prison after pleading guilty to raping an underage girl in late 2018 and early 2019.
"Mr. Pruitt is a danger to any minor female that he comes into contact with. This was full-on aggravated to an excessive degree," said Judge Andrew Freiberg in his sentencing statement.
But before he said that, Freiburg opened his statement while fighting back tears, in a very emotional moment.
"I'd like to begin by apologizing to you, Miss Pruitt. I'm very sorry, for what it's worth. I wrote down in my notes, the words 'brave,' 'strong,' and 'courageous.' I think that's who you are. I cannot imagine, what do you have gone through," he said.
The victim, now 16 years old, appeared in court for Randall Pruitt's sentencing hearing on Friday to talk about what his crimes had done to her.
"I want him behind bars," she said. "I don't want him out I don't want him around other kids ... I don't want anyone else to have to go through that ever."
Pruitt, 44, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape in June.
Judge Andrew Freiberg called it one of the most horrifying cases he has seen in his 17-year career as a judge.
The victim was 14 years old at the time of the crimes. Freiberg sentenced Pruitt in Monroe County Circuit Court to serve an effective 28.5 years in prison.
She said the 'grooming' started when she was only 3 years old and the judge called Pruitt's behavior reprehensible. He said that it was a case like no other for him.
"I do find it to be horrifying. I find it to be shocking. I find it to be reprehensible," he said. "Mr. Pruitt is a danger to any minor female that he comes into contact with."
Near Christmas 2018, the girl began communicating with a Wisconsin man online about what Pruitt was doing to her, authorities and court records state. She told Bryan Rogers that Pruitt had been raping her in Monroe County.
Rogers told the girl to record an assault on a smartphone as evidence. The girl complied.
The judge watched a brief portion as evidence during the sentencing. He said that he only watched a brief portion because he couldn't bear to watch anymore.
"I kept wanting to turn my eyes away from it, but it does show the significance of the crime," he said. "This was full-on aggravated to an excessive degree."
Rogers then drove to Monroe County, picked up the girl and they returned to his Madison, Wis., home. She hid in the house.
After driving her to Wisconsin, court officials said Rogers had sex with her.
The girl was later reported missing on Jan. 14, 2019, setting off a state and national investigation.
On Jan. 31, 2019, FBI agents confronted Rogers at his home. He denied the girl was with him, but agents found her hiding in a closet, records show.
Authorities said the truth of what the girl had been suffering came more fully to light, and Pruitt was charged with rape.
That girl said before running away she tried to tell the ones who were closest to her about Pruitt, but no one believed her. She said that she told her mother about it, but she did not believe her.
Rogers later pleaded guilty to transporting the teen across state lines and having sex with her. He's serving a little more than 11 years in federal prison.
In July 2019, Christina Pruitt, Pruitt's wife, pleaded guilty to evidence tampering. She was given a 4 -year term on supervised probation.