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Logan coffee shop owner arrested over sexual assault allegations

LOGAN, W.Va. — The owner of a Logan coffee shop is behind bars facing felony charges over alleged sexual encounters with minors.

West Virginia State Police arrested Michael Cline, 47, owner of the Hot Cup Coffee Shop in Logan, Thursday night on the charges.

“This investigation started via some posts on social media which garnered a lot of attention about three weeks ago,” said Logan County Prosecuting Attorney David Wandling.

Three victims have since come forward to claim they were the targets of sexual advances by Cline when they were under the age of 18. One victim was age 11 at the time of the alleged incident in 2001.

“The 2001 incident involved an 11-year-old and allegedly occurred while Mr. Cline was an employee of On Cue Records at the old Rita Mall in Lyburn. The other incidents also involve individuals who were under the age of 18 when the incidents occurred,” Wandling added.

The charges include first degree sexual assault for the 2001 incident. Cline is also charged with second degree sexual assault and being in possession of child pornography in the case of the second victim. The third victim’s account resulted in a charge of solicitation of obscene material from a minor.

The criminal complaint identified the victim in the 2001 incident as LM. She told police the assault occurred in the bathroom of the On Cue Music store. According to her story, the encounter was interrupted by the sound of the victim’s mother confronting another store employee about her daughter’s location. The victim in the case told police she had met Cline at school dances when she was a student at Gilbert Middle School and was contacted by Cline via Instant Messenger and through a friend.

In the second case, the criminal complaint noted the victim was engaged in a personal relationship with Cline from November 2015 to October 2019. The victim claimed she sent Cline nude pictures of herself from November 2015 through February 2016 when she turned 18. She also alleged Cline took pictures of her naked or in bondage when she was age 17. The complaint further alleged Cline received videos of sexual acts while the victim was a student at Man High School.

The victim told police during the relationship she was repeatedly beaten by Cline and was constantly subjected to mental and physical abuse.

The third victim, according to court documents, revealed to investigators she exchanged sexually explicit messages and photos with Cline when she was age 17.

“Since this dates back 20 years, I think it’s possible there are more victims. Of course this is an ongoing investigation,” Wandling said. “I believe there were similar grooming techniques in place in all three incidents.”

The case has been a hot button issue on social media in recent weeks and continued to cause an emotional stir in the small community.

“You don’t have to go far on Facebook to see how high emotions are running on this situation. My office has really tried to leave this to the investigators and try to not comment on anything that is not already of knowledge to the public,” he said.

Cline is lodged in the Southwestern Regional Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. A preliminary hearing will be scheduled within ten days.





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