Robert Cota will spend the rest of his life in prison after he sexually abused a child for three years starting when she was 11 in Escambia County, Florida. He also admitted to beating the girl with belts, cords and automobile parts. (Escambia County Jail)
A north Florida judge sentenced a 33-year-old man charged with 1,200 counts of battery and sexual battery to two life sentences plus 35 years for carrying out what prosecutors called “some of the most heinous acts against a vulnerable child.”
Prosecutors from the State Attorney’s Office First Judicial Circuit of Florida revealed at trial that Robert Joel Cota had been sexually abusing a minor child over a period of three years starting when she was 11 in Escambia County. The victim had extensive bruising, scars and marks from months of abuse, a press release said.
Cota admitted to beating the girl with belts, cords and automobile parts. A jury last week convicted Cota of sexual battery (victim less than 12 years of age), sexual battery (while in position of custodial authority), aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors dropped the other charges. Cota was officially deemed a sexual predator.
“This defendant perpetrated some of the most heinous acts against a vulnerable child,” Assistant State Attorney Carrie Gilmer said in a press release. “This sentence ensures that Robert Cota will not be a danger to anyone else and provides some much needed closure to the victim and their family.”
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Citing an arrest affidavit, the Pensacola News Journal reported that the case began in November 2021 when Cota approached a local pastor during a new members day event at a church. Cota approached the pastor and started asking questions about the church’s beliefs about “marriage, gender and sexual conduct.” Cota went on to say he had a “sexual relationship” with an underage girl, according to the affidavit. The pastor then alerted the Escambia Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators talked to the victim who told them Cota had been sexually assaulting her for the last three years. She estimated it had happened more than 600 times, the arrest report said. Cops took Cota into Escambia County Jail where he’s been held ever since. He’ll be transferred to a prison in the Florida Department of Corrections where he’ll spend the rest of his life.
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