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CHRIS TISCHThe 19-year-old mentally disabled woman left Illinois to come here for a sexual encounter that she tried to stop after it started, Largo police say.
LARGO - Police have arrested a Largo man on charges he sexually abused a mentally disabled woman from Illinois after luring her here over the Internet.
Police said Andrew M. Kobak, 31, met the 19-year-old woman in an alternative lifestyle chat room Nov. 1. They talked on the phone the day after and Kobak bought her a bus ticket to Florida, police said.
Police said Kobak, who is involved in sadism and masochism activities, was bringing the woman to Largo for a sexual encounter. The woman left Illinois the next day and arrived in Largo.
"She basically came down here to be his sex slave," said Detective Joe Coyle.
The woman knew she was meeting Kobak for a sexual rendezvous, but once the sex started, she tried to stop it, police said. Officers said it was her first foray into that lifestyle.
"It went further than she wanted," Coyle said. "She wanted him to stop and he didn't stop."
Officers said Kobak committed a number of sexual offenses, including abusing the woman with a riding crop.
Police said Kobak, who lives alone, kept the woman, who suffers from depression and borderline personality disorder, in his home for 60 hours. He threatened to tell her parents what happened if she left. He also threatened to inject her with a drug if she tried to flee, Burke said.
"There were enough threats made that she didn't feel free to leave," the officer said.
Kobak also gave the victim the impression he was a police officer. In fact, Largo police have been aware of Kobak for some time because they suspected he was impersonating police officers.
In September, a police officer pulled Kobak over while he was driving a Crown Victoria resembling a police car. The officer noticed the car had a spotlight and a working air horn. Yellow and white lights were mounted on the dash and in the back window, police said.
Police also found a plastic imitation badge in his wallet, a mag flashlight next to the driver's seat, two handcuff keys in the car and a 9mm Ruger in the glove box. He had a Florida Police Benevolent Association license plate on the car.
In the trunk they found rope, flares, handcuffs and a bag of oregano. Kobak, who works for a company that outfits police cars, told officers he had wanted to play a prank on some friends by pretending the oregano was marijuana, police records state.
Police didn't charge Kobak with impersonating an officer, but did arrest him on charges of driving with a suspended license. He was awaiting trial on those charges when, police say, he met the Illinois woman online.
Because the woman believed Kobak was an officer, she was scared to call police for help. So when he left his home Friday morning, she cut her arm, then called 911 and said she had sliced herself. When paramedics arrived, they also summoned police.
"She wasn't suicidal. She just needed help getting out of there," said Officer Chris Burke.
Officers soon figured out something was amiss.
The woman was hospitalized over the weekend for internal injuries police said were caused by the sexual abuse.
"There are injuries indicating force was used," Coyle said.
Coyle said Kobak admitted the sexual activity occurred, but said it was all consensual. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday on charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious acts on a disabled person and aggravated battery. He was being held Monday in lieu of $240,000 bail.
A victim advocate was helping the woman find shelter Monday before she returns to Illinois.
"She had a lot of stuff done to her in 60 hours," Burke said. "He's looking at some major charges. She realizes that she was duped and lured by this monster to Florida and just wants to get on with her life. But she doesn't want him to do it to anyone else."
- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com