Pensacola man sentenced to life after jury convicts him of raping child over 600 times
A Pensacola man charged with raping a child over 600 times between 2018 and 2021 was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty Wednesday of multiple sex offenses.
Robert Cota, 33, is now a designated sexual predator after he was found guilty of sexual battery of a victim under 12, sexual battery of a victim between 12 and 18, aggravated battery on a child and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, court records indicate.
Since Cota's sexual assault offense is a capital felony, Circuit Judge Coleman Robinson was mandated to sentence him to a mandatory minimum life sentence.
Robert Cota's trial: Trial date set for Pensacola man who allegedly raped child 600 times
How was Robert Cota arrested?
Back in November 2021, Escambia County Sheriff's deputies arrested Cota on 600 counts of child sexual assault after he reportedly went to a pastor about his sexual contact with the juvenile.
An arrest report states that the pastor told deputies Cota wished to speak with him after a new members' event because he had a question about one of the church's guidelines.
He reportedly told the pastor he was having a "sexual relationship" with the juvenile, according to the arrest report. The pastor then asked Cota "if he was wanting forgiveness and was willing to repent for this sin, and Robert Cota stated, 'No.'"
The report then says the pastor told Cota he needed to report himself to authorities because "what he was doing is not right." The pastor provided law enforcement with Cota's new member form and photo.
In an interview with law enforcement investigators, the juvenile estimated that Cota had sexual intercourse with her more than 600 times over roughly three years, sometime multiple times a day.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola man sentenced to life for raping child 600 times
