The Wisconsin man accused of convincing a 14-year-old Tennessee teen to film her adoptive father raping her will remain in custody for the moment.
A U.S. magistrate judge declined a bid Tuesday afternoon by lawyers for Bryan D. Rogers, 31, to let him go pending prosecution in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Oppeneer set a Feb. 21 arraignment for Rogers, who has been held in the Dane County, Wisconsin, jail since earlier this month.
Authorities say Rogers traded online messages with a Monroe County girl from late December until mid January, when he traveled from Wisconsin to Tennessee, drove her away from her home and hid her in his mother's basement.
The girl and her family had only just moved to a Tennessee farm after living in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Records show the girl was desperate to get away from her adoptive father, Randall Pruitt, who she alleged had been raping her for years. During their online conversations, Rogers suggested she secretly tape Pruitt assaulting her as evidence that could be provided to the FBI.
She objected at first but ultimately agreed to make the video, according to records.
After she fled Tennessee for Wisconsin, Pruitt was charged in Monroe County with rape.
Rogers, meanwhile, is charged in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin with sexual exploitation of a child.
Defense attorneys argue he was trying to help her, not take advantage of her.
Oppeneer conducted a preliminary exam Tuesday afternoon in Madison. He found probable cause to keep Rogers in jail, despite Rogers' efforts to get out.
A Wisconsin special agent testified.