High School Wrestling Coach Accused Of Sexual Assault
Cobbert Has Been Coaching Wrestling Since 2009
The following story contains graphic allegations of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Hall of Fame wrestler and wrestling coach Paul James “PJ” Cobbert has been accused of sexual assault by a former wrestler. Last year, allegations were made to the Clay County Sheriff’s office accusing Cobbert of sexually assaulting a former high school wrestler while on a wrestling trip.
This weekend, a document began circling social media groups outlining the allegations and subsequent investigation. Cobbert is accused of asking the victim, who was 17 at the time, to “touch his penis” multiple times starting in 2018. Later, Cobbert allegedly caught the underage boy smoking marijuana while on a trip to a wrestling competition in Orlando.
Per the document, Cobbert then forced the victim to “lay in bed with him” as a punishment for smoking. The victim states he later woke up ‘completely naked’ with Cobbert “grinding” on top of him while also naked. Per the victim, this led to other ‘sexual acts’ at Cobbert’s gym after the trip to Orlando.
After speaking with the victim, the detective arranged for a call between the victim and Cobbert to discuss what happened between them in the past. During the call, Cobbert denied committing any sexual acts with the victim while the victim was underage.
Unfortunately, Cobbert did admit to sexual contact with the victim after he turned 18. Both the victim and Cobbert admit to masturbating in front of each other. The victim claims there were also instances of oral sex, which Cobbert denies.
In addition to the allegations investigated, multiple people described to Clay News & Views allegations of inappropriate behavior by Cobbert. Cobbert was known for cracking sexual jokes to the wrestlers he coached and bragging about his sexual exploits.
Cobbert was also known for luring wrestlers to a place known as the “Lake House” for illicit activities, including sex with men and women. Clay News & Views could not determine the exact location of the Lake House, but Cobbert and his father own several properties in Green Cove Springs.
Cobbert has been a wrestling coach at Fleming Island High School since 2009, starting as an assistant. Cobbert was a wrestler at Clay High School in the early 2000s. His career was so successful that he was eventually inducted into the Florida Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2024.
Cobbert’s high school wrestling coach was Jim Reape. Last year, Clay News & Views uncovered allegations of sexual hazing between students in Reape’s wrestling program. These new allegations suggest a disturbing trend in some of the high school wrestling teams and clubs in Clay County.
Ultimately, law enforcement and the state’s attorney believed the allegations against Cobbert were criminal. Unfortunately, Cobbert was not charged as the statute of limitations had expired.
It is unclear if or when the Clay County School District was notified about the investigation into Cobbert. He is not listed as a wrestling coach on the district’s website.
The investigation into this story is ongoing. If you have any information about other victims of abuse, contact the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Wow another predator in Clay County and the third coach. Ben White the weightlifting coach from Oakleaf is currently in court now with a number of men surrounding him and wasn’t arrested for MONTHS after the allegations were made. Even still our District (not our Board) argued at the workshop teacher should be able to add students on social media. One of our Board members sons was arrested and he was around children and she/he retained two attorneys to defend him in his case in Nassau. We have a predator cover up problem in Clay County and it’s time someone stops allowing that to happen.
Notice there is ZERO reporting of this on local, liberal news media? None.