LOGAN ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Michael Cline, the former owner of the now-closed Hot Cup coffee shop in downtown Logan, has been sentenced to five years in state prison over his felony sex crimes convictions.
Cline, 50, was sentenced by Judge Joshua Butcher after a lengthy hearing in Logan County Circuit Court on Aug. 4. In April, Cline pleaded guilty to two felony counts of distribution and exhibition of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” which is the West Virginia code for child pornography ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and one felony count of distribution and display of obscene matter to a minor.
Cline is entitled to credit for the time he already served at Southwestern Regional Jail and for the home confinement he had been on since posting bond. Cline spent just under a year in jail, having been arrested on Feb. 9, 2023, and getting bailed out on Feb. 1, 2024, after having his initial hefty cash-only bond of $500,000 reduced to a $100,000 surety.
After he is released from prison, Cline will be required to register as a sex offender for life and undergo 15 years of supervised release.
During the sentencing hearing, one of the victims in the case, identified in court documents as A.K., gave a victim impact statement where she recounted her three-year relationship with Cline that began in November 2015 when she was 17 years old.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œDespite what Michael pays his lawyer to say, I am not a jealous ex-girlfriend seeking revenge,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ A.K. said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI am not a woman scorned. I didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have a vendetta against Michael that I wanted to monetize. I had a debilitating fear that if I didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t tell my story, another girl would end up just like me ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” broken and traumatized and scarred for life.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
A.K.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s statement was met with an objection from ClineÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s attorney, Matthew Hatfield, on the grounds that some of it, such as sexual assault allegations, didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t pertain to the charges he was being sentenced for. Butcher and Logan County Prosecuting Attorney David Wandling argued that she should be permitted to give her statement since it was the final hearing in the saga.
ClineÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s mother, Loretta Hatfield, took to the stand in his defense as did Cline himself. Cline denied claims that he was ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œvictim blamingÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and said he takes responsibility for the exchange of lewd photos, claiming that he was unaware that the law prevented him from doing so.
Cline and his mother both argued that itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a contradiction for the age of consent in West Virginia to be 16 but still illegal to share images until the age of 18. He also said he recognized he should not have pursued the relationship with A.K.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI shouldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have been with somebody that young in the first place,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Cline said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was legal, but I understand now, as a corrected man, that I should not have been with somebody that young at all.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
In sentencing, Butcher noted that he didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t consider any of the personal matters regarding the sex life between the two since Cline was not charged with it nor did he plead guilty to any of it. Butcher said that while Cline admits to the charges he pleaded guilty to, he does not feel Cline shows any true remorse for his actions.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s very matter-of-fact and resolute in what happened,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Butcher said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t deny it, but thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s an air about his response that reflects his viewpoint that what he has done was based upon his lack of knowledge of the law, but also seems to take no accountability for the offense. ... Even though he has today expressed that remorse, I donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t believe the (pre-statement investigation) statements reflect that remorse or his initial statement at his plea hearing. In the PSI, in the defendantÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s statement of the offense, Mr. Cline seems to mock the law and seems to justify his actions by pointing out all of the things he can legally do with the victim in this case and in his relationships with these girls ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” except for what heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s pled guilty to.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Butcher noted that the law requires an appropriate punishment, despite the fact that Cline may feel itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a contradiction.
