Lewisburg man charged with computer-based recruitment of teenagers and sexual assault

A Lewisburg man has been charged by Morgan County police with using a computer to solicit a minor to travel to perform illicit sex acts in the case of a teenager who disappeared in Berkeley Springs in early August.

Robert D. Cobb, 61, was arrested on August 18 and is being held at the Southern Regional Jail awaiting a hearing in his case.

Cobb was also charged by Greenbrier County police with two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a victim who was younger than 16 years old and at least four years younger. Police say these alleged crimes occurred between August 3 and August 17 of this year.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Deputy Jesse Hedrick in Morgan County Magistrate Court, Cobb was arrested by West Virginia State Police in Lewisburg after a statewide investigation linked his cellphone to a series of Internet chat messages. When police were able to track his whereabouts through the cellphone and responded to his location, they found the missing local teen in a trailer approximately two weeks after parents reported the minor missing.

During the police investigation, which involved the FBI and officers from several police agencies, officers discovered a profile of the teen on a chat website. That account was identifiable and featured a photo of the teen at a home in Berkeley Springs.

Messages sent from that account to other users of the chat website led police to an account linked to Cobb. Some messages allegedly involved sexual activity and his willingness to pick up the teen from a residence in Morgan County. A message thread also indicated he had arrived in Berkeley Springs to pick up the minor.

During their investigation, police were able to identify the cell phone linked to Cobb's account. Location data associated with that cell phone showed that the cell phone was traveling northeast from Lewisburg toward I-81 on the day the teen allegedly left her parents' home.

According to police, Cpl. Hedrick was notified on August 18 that Cobb's mobile device was in Lewisburg and that West Virginia State Police had located the teenager with Cobb in an RV in that area.

As the investigation continued, police said their interview with the teenager provided them with probable evidence to charge Cobb with using a computer to entice minors to travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct, as well as other charges.

Cobb is being held at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County. Greenbrier County bail is set at $20,000 and Morgan County bail is set at $100,000.

State magistrate court records also show that Cobb faces charges in three separate cases for violating a restraining order in Greenbrier County in June 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to those counts, which were filed by the Lewisburg Police Department. Cobb was free on bail in those cases before his most recent arrest in August.