Federal prosecutors are recommending life in prison for a Georgia man who convinced a Hawkins County teenager to run away with him last summer.
A sentencing memorandum obtained from U.S. District Court in Greeneville said that U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr recommends a lifetime sentence for Benjamin Shook for crimes and conduct that she called "every parent's nightmare."
Shook, classified as a sexual predator, met teenager Hayleigh Wilson over the Internet and then persuaded her in June 2015 to steal her stepfather's truck and meet him in Morristown.
Police and agents from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Office conducted a four-state search that ended in Smyth County, Virginia.
The two went into a mobile home park and asked a homeowner to take a shower. The homeowner then called the police and the two were apprehended.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by Shook's attorney says his client would agree to a 30-year prison sentence plus five years probation. He took a plea deal in December.
The judge will make the final determination on Shook's sentence. That hearing is scheduled for November 17th.
This story originally appeared on WCYB.com.
