A 36-year-old Los Angeles man is sitting in San Luis Obispo County Jail on $1 million bail after Atascadero detectives tracked him down more than 200 miles south and brought him back to face five felony charges involving a local minor. Michael Donovan Cobb Jr. was booked Thursday following a months-long investigation that began in Atascadero back in August.
Two-Month Investigation Led South to Los Angeles
According to News Channel 3-12, Atascadero detectives first learned in August that crimes had been committed against a minor in the city and identified Cobb Jr. as the suspect, per the Atascadero Police Department's press release. Detectives later traveled over 200 miles south to Los Angeles to make the arrest, according to KEYT. The department is the primary municipal law enforcement agency for the area, led by Chief of Police Dan Suttles, per the City of Atascadero.
After the arrest, detectives transported Cobb Jr. back to San Luis Obispo County, where he was booked into the county jail Thursday on five felony sex crime charges involving a minor, with bail set at $1 million, per the same account. Atascadero, home to roughly 29,400 residents along U.S. Route 101 in northern San Luis Obispo County, sits about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Five Felony Counts Span Communication, Travel, and Physical Contact
Cobb Jr. was charged with violating Penal Code 288(c)(1), felony lewd acts with a child, along with 288.2(a)(1), sending harmful matter to a minor, 288.3(a), contacting a minor with intent to meet for sex, 288.4(b), arranging to meet a minor for sex, and 289(i), felony sexual penetration of a minor, the report states. The charges span alleged digital contact, arranging a meeting, and alleged physical acts.
Lewd acts with a 14- or 15-year-old by someone at least 10 years older carry up to three years in state prison under Section 288(c)(1), according to Lawlytics. Section 288.2(a)(1) addresses sending harmful material to a minor with the required intent to seduce and intent to engage in specified sexual conduct or intimate touching, and carries up to five years in prison and fines as high as $10,000, per the Shouse Law Group.
How State Law Treats Digital Enticement and Travel
Section 288.3(a), enacted under Proposition 83 in 2006, makes it a felony to contact or attempt to contact a minor with intent to commit a felony sex offense, punishable by the term prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense, according to Justia Law. The measure was designed to let prosecutors intervene before physical contact occurs.
Separately, Section 288.4(b) elevates arranging to meet a minor for sex from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by two, three, or four years in prison if the accused actually travels to the meeting location, per Eisner Gorin LLP. Section 289(i) is a felony when the defendant is at least 21 and the victim is under 16, according to Wallin & Klarich.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office had not yet filed charges. It remains unclear how Cobb Jr. initially made contact with the minor and whether additional victims may come forward as the case moves through the courts.
