Ex-Cobb Police Officer sentenced for assaulting mentally disabled woman

The Cobb County district attorney announced that a former Cobb police officer, Robert Lanier New, has been sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a mentally disabled woman. After serving his prison time, New will spend 14 years on probation.

New, 51, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the first degree and was sentenced as a first offender.

According to investigators, on June 18, 2018, a good Samaritan reported to Cobb police that a woman with cognitive disabilities had been choked and assaulted by a male partner during intercourse. 

New was employed by the police department at the time this occurred. The incident happened sometime in March 2018 at New’s home on Hawkins Store Road in Kennesaw, according to police.

According to his arrest warrant, New choked the 44-year-old woman — who has the mental capacity of a 10- to 14-year-old — and slapped both sides of her face during sex to the point she cried. The woman told officers that because of New’s hands around her throat, she wasn’t able to tell him to stop, the warrant stated. During an interview, the victim told investigators that she and New met on a dating app. 

The DA’s office said, “It was also determined during the victim’s interview that New had attempted to have the victim bring her juvenile niece and involve her in their sexual activity. This was later confirmed during a forensic analysis of New’s phone. After interviewing New, police arrested him.”

New joined the Cobb County Police Department in February 2005. Prior to Cobb, New worked with the Emerson Police Department and the Acworth Police Department.

After his arrest, New was out on a $38,700 bond. He was returned to the Cobb jail following his guilty plea.