ECSO: Pensacola man arrested after telling pastor he had sex with young girl
A Pensacola man was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a young girl hundreds of times over three years after he reportedly told a local pastor about his actions and the pastor alerted authorities.
Robert Joel Cota, 31, was arrested Sunday and charged with sexual battery on a victim 12 or younger, child abuse, aggravated assault, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and at least one other sex-related offenses.
He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond and remained in custody Monday.
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A pastor contacted authorities Sunday after Cota approached him at a new members' day event at the church and asked questions "pertaining to the church's beliefs about marriage, gender and sexual conduct" that concerned the pastor, according to Cota's arrest report.
During the conversation, Cota allegedly referenced a sexual relationship with an underage girl, the pastor later told Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies.
The pastor said he told Cota that "what he was doing is not right and that he needs to report himself to the authorities."
The pastor provided ECSO investigators with a piece of paper on which Cota had written his address and phone number and a photo of Cota taken in line with the church's protocol of photographing all potential new members.
After ECSO investigators spoke to the pastor, they contacted the girl who Cota is accused of assaulting. The girl's age is redacted from the arrest report.
The girl told deputies that Cota had been sexually assaulting her for the past three years. She said the abuse started when she was about 7 years old and estimated that it had happened more than 600 times, according to the arrest report.
A warrant was subsequently written for Cota's arrest.
Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Robert Cota arrested after telling pastor he had sex with minor girl
