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Two men, two legal paths in Madisonville sex crimes case

"While his intentions may have been less-than-evil, or even good, it's still a violation of law."

MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — A second man is now charged in the case of a missing Monroe County teenager who was found safe in Wisconsin last week.

Federal court documents show Bryan Rogers of Wisconsin persuaded the teen to take a video of herself being raped by her adopted father.

Rogers is now charged in federal court with sexual exploitation of a child.

RELATED: Report: Wisconsin man arrested, told Madisonville teen to film sexual assault as proof of abuse

The teen claims her adopted father Randall Pruitt was sexually abusing her for more than a decade.

Pruitt is being held without bond in Monroe County on rape charges.

Both men will go through very different court proceedings, as Rogers faces charges in federal court and Pruitt faces his only in Tennessee.

Federal court documents say 31-year-old Rogers met the Monroe County teen on 'Roblox,' a gaming website last year.

The documents show messages of her asking for his help. 

Even if his intent was to help, experts say Rogers broke the law. 

In the thread of messages detailed on record, Rogers asked the girl to send him a video of her adopted father raping her.

In those texts he says she needs to record the video to have evidence of the abuse, and he won't drive from Wisconsin to Tennessee to pick her up without it.

RELATED: Missing Madisonville teen found alive and safe, adoptive father arrested

Records say he messaged her saying "I can't promise I can get you away from that I hate to say it but I can't risk getting in trouble for you."

They say she replied, "I can't just stay here Bryan I'm begging you plz."

Those federal records show she got the video, sent it to Rogers, and he picked her up.

He's now facing a federal charge of transporting that explicit video across state lines.

RELATED: Investigators found photos and video of alleged rape taken on missing teen's phone

"What Mr. Rogers likely should have done was immediately notify authorities in Tennessee or in Wisconsin and let them intervene appropriately," said legal analyst Don Bosch.

Because state lines were crossed, Rogers is facing charges on a federal level.

Pruitt, the teen's adopted father, is being charged at a state level, as all known offenses at this time all happened in Tennessee.

Bosch says Rogers' case will likely finish faster.

"Federal cases move faster than state cases," said Bosch. They move faster as a function of law."

Bosch says if Rogers was acting with good intent, that could play a large part in his defense, should he go to trial.

RELATED: Child advocacy centers offer help for kids dealing with trauma

But Rogers and Pruitt, while not facing similar charges, are both facing long sentences.

"They will likely not be in court together unless one of them decides to cooperate with the appropriate authority, and you could see a situation where one testifies against the other," said Bosch.

Rogers appeared in court in Wisconsin Monday afternoon, and will return to court Thursday for a detention hearing.

Pruitt will be in court in Monroe County Tuesday morning. 

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