Madison Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Child

MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that a complaint has been filed against a Madison, Wisconsin resident for sexual exploitation of a child to produce a visual depiction.  Bryan Rogers, 31, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Madison today with knowingly persuading a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, and such visual depiction was transported from Tennessee to Wisconsin.

Rogers will make an initial appearance in federal court in Madison at 3:00 p.m. today.

The affidavit supporting the complaint alleges that Rogers came into contact with a minor in Tennessee through an online game who told him that she was being sexually assaulted.  The affidavit alleges that Rogers persuaded the minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, to make a video recording of the conduct, and send the video recording to him.  The affidavit further alleges that Rogers traveled to Tennessee and returned to Wisconsin with the minor.

If convicted, Rogers faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.  The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Madison Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Monroe County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Pfluger and Elizabeth Altman.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.