BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LOGAN, W.Va. — The owner of a popular coffee shop in Logan was arrested Thursday on multiple charges including first-degree sexual assault.
Michael Cline, owner of the Hot Cup Coffee Shop, was taken into custody by the West Virginia State Police for charges including first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and distribution and exhibiting material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The three felony charges, spanning over 20 years, were filed in Logan County Magistrate Court.
Logan County Magistrate Dwight Williamson, acting on the recommendation of the prosecutor’s office, set a bond of $500,000 cash only. The 47-year-old Cline was booked and lodged at the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden.
Cline stands accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old victim on or about March 1 to June 30, 2001. According to the complaint, the victim described an alleged assault in the bathroom of the On Cue Music store formerly located at the old Rita Mall in Lyburn, W.Va. The victim, identified as LM, told police the assault was interrupted by the sound of her mother confronting another employee about the victim’s whereabouts.
According to the complaint, Cline left the restroom once the other employee began calling his name.
The victim said she had met Cline at school dances when she was a student at Gilbert Middle School at the time of the alleged assault. The complaint further alleges Cline contacted the victim through Instant Messenger and attempted to contact the victim through a friend of the victim.
Another victim’s statement alleges she had a personal relationship with Cline from November 2015 to October 2019.
Allegations on social media by victims began circulating the evening of Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. Hot Cup Coffee Shop, located in the White and Browning Building in downtown Logan (which Cline rechristened Stark Tower in 2021), has not been open since. State Police served a search warrant on the building Jan. 27.
According to the complaint, the victim said she sent nude photos of herself to the Cline between November 2015 and February 2016, when she turned 18. The victim told police she was 17 when the suspect took pictures of her nude or in bondage. The complaint also chronicles videos of sexual acts sent to Cline while the victim, identified as AK, was a student at Man High School.
The victim alleged Cline brutalized her with punches to her face and slammed her head against a wall to which the victim was tied. According to the complaint, Cline mentally controlled her by only allowing her to eat grapes, beef jerky and drinking water to prevent her from gaining weight.
The third charge, distribution and exhibiting material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, stems from an investigation that began in August 2020 when Sergeant T.D. Boggs of the Logan Detachment of State Police was assigned an Internet Crimes Against Children case. A cyber tip alleged a 17-year-old victim was sending nude photos to Cline through social media platform Facebook.
Logan Magistrate Court completed warrants for the victim’s and suspect’s Facebook accounts Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020.
The account of the victim, identified as 17-year-old KL, revealed sexually explicit messages. According to the complaint, the sexually explicit messages were not located during a review of the suspect’s account.
On Jan. 27 of this year, Sergeant Boggs and Logan Prosecutor David Wandling met with the victim. According to the criminal complaint, the victim had several Instagram messages between her and Cline, including one on Jan. 14, 2019, in which the victim said it was her 18th birthday and Cline acknowledged it.
(Information provided by WVOW Radio news, Logan, W.Va.)