WHITE COUNTY, TN — A former Tennessee deputy is accused of abusing a missing 15-year-old girl from Alabama and keeping her from leaving a home in Sparta, according to an affidavit obtained by investigators. The teen was found on Sept. 3 after the FBI traced her to the residence in White County, Tennessee.
The affidavit says the girl told police that Brian Anthony Schalk had “done things to her,” that she had no way to leave the home, and that he threatened her. Schalk has been charged with statutory rape and harboring. He is being held under a $204,000 bond and must be fitted with a GPS monitor before release.
Affidavit says the teen described abuse and said she could not leave
The court document lays out the account the teenager gave to authorities after she was located. It says she described abuse by Schalk and told police she was trapped inside the residence.
According to the affidavit, the teen said she did not have a way to leave and that Schalk threatened her. Investigators have not said in the affidavit how the girl first came into contact with him. The case remains under active investigation, and authorities have not publicly detailed the full timeline of what happened before she was found.
The missing-person case began as a runaway alert, but deputies later said the teenager was in danger for another reason as well. Officials said she did not have her insulin or diabetic supplies, which increased the urgency of finding her quickly.
FBI traced the girl to a Sparta residence after disappearance in Alabama
The teen was reported missing from Decatur, Alabama, and the FBI ultimately traced her to the Sparta home on Sept. 3. White County Sheriff Steve Page said Schalk’s vehicle was picked up by a Flock camera around the time the girl disappeared, helping investigators piece together the movement of the case.
Authorities have said the investigation crosses state lines, and the FBI is now looking into how the girl was brought from Alabama into Tennessee. That federal involvement makes the case broader than a local missing-person search, though officials have not released every detail of the travel route or timing.
The location where she was found and the vehicle alert became key pieces of the search. White County officials have not said publicly who else, if anyone, may have been present in or around the home.
Schalk had already been decertified after a 2024 internal case in Van Buren County
Schalk’s law-enforcement history has also come under scrutiny. Records and statements tied to a POST hearing show he was decertified as a deputy in Van Buren County in 2024.
At the time, Sheriff Michael Brock said Schalk was a “danger and a liability” as long as he remained employed in law enforcement. Brock said the problems stemmed from a March 2024 incident in Knoxville, where Schalk was off duty and was placed on unpaid suspension pending an internal investigation. According to Brock, Schalk verbally resigned the same day the investigation began.
Brock said body camera footage from that night showed Schalk intoxicated, being asked to leave a bar after trying to damage property and acting belligerently toward patrons and staff, including his girlfriend. The hearing confirming his decertification took place on July 18, 2024.
Court records show bond conditions and a return date next week
Schalk made his first court appearance on Tuesday, according to the court clerk. He is scheduled to be back before a judge next week as the criminal case moves forward.
The affidavit says he faces statutory rape and harboring charges, and the bond set in the case is $204,000. Before any release, he must obtain a GPS monitor, which gives authorities another layer of supervision.
Officials have not said whether additional charges are possible. The federal and local investigations are still unfolding, and prosecutors have not yet disclosed whether more evidence or witnesses will be presented at the next hearing.
Questions remain about how the teen entered the former deputy’s life
Even with the affidavit, several basic questions remain unanswered in public records. Investigators have not explained how the teen and Schalk first met or what led her from Alabama to the Tennessee home where she was found.
Authorities also have not said whether anyone else helped move or conceal the girl. For now, the public record focuses on the alleged abuse, the interstate nature of the search, and the prior concerns that led to Schalk’s decertification in another county.
What is clear is that multiple agencies are involved and that the missing-teen alert turned into a criminal case with serious felony allegations. The FBI continues to investigate how the girl was transported across state lines, while White County officials handle the local court process.
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