A man held without bond at the Cobb County Jail has been indicted for a 2006 rape along the Highway 92 corridor, one of at least 25 sexual assaults prosecutors say he committed across three counties over nearly four decades dating to 1988.
Bobby Lee Hart Jr., 53, faces charges in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. Prosecutors from all three jurisdictions announced the scope of the case at an Aug. 19 press conference, calling it one of the most extensive serial assault investigations in the region. Hart's Cobb County case is moving first.
The Cobb Superior Court indictment charges Hart with rape, aggravated assault and false imprisonment stemming from a November 2006 attack, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. DNA testing connected Hart to that assault nearly 19 years later. Court proceedings are scheduled through mid-September.
Paulding County District Attorney Robert Lane said all identified victims were found within the Highway 92 corridor between Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. Hart was arrested by Douglas County officials in August 2025 and transferred to Cobb because prosecutors there were able to advance their case faster, Lane said. Once the Cobb case concludes, Hart will be moved to Douglas County for further prosecution. The exact date Hart's Cobb County custody began could not be independently confirmed for this story.
Pattern of targeting vulnerable women
Investigators say Hart targeted women in vulnerable situations, offering rides or other help before driving them to secluded locations and assaulting them. Victims did not know Hart personally and encountered him at random, Lane said, which made identification difficult for years.
Hart changed his appearance frequently and used multiple aliases, including "Meat," "King" and "Champ." Paulding County Sheriff Ashley Henson displayed a series of photos at the press conference showing Hart with different hairstyles and facial features over the years.
Search warrants revealed Hart owned more than 20 vehicles, including SUVs and vans in which he allegedly manipulated door locks to prevent victims from escaping, according to Hoodline. Investigators seized clothing, seat covers, photographs, DVDs and electronics. Hart's work as a commercial transit driver is believed to have helped him move across county lines. Some coverage of the investigation has referenced a possible fourth county, Fulton, in connection with Hart's travel patterns, though the charges described by prosecutors remain centered on Cobb, Douglas and Paulding.
Three counties, still counting
Hart faces charges in three Douglas County rape cases dating to 2012, 2022 and 2024, according to Atlanta News First. On Aug. 19, Lane announced his office opened a new investigation into a 2012 assault in Hiram, where Hart allegedly offered a woman a ride in Douglas County, drove her to Paulding County and assaulted her at a storage facility.
No charges have been filed yet in Paulding County. Investigators used a national DNA database to identify several victims.
Georgia law eliminates the statute of limitations for rape and other serious sex offenses when DNA evidence is preserved and used to establish a suspect's identity.
"If we know of 25 victims that are out there, there's no telling how many there could actually be," Henson said at the press conference.
How to report
Prosecutors are asking anyone who may have been victimized by Hart or who has information to contact the Paulding County DA's Victim Service Unit at 770-443-7561. The Family Violence Crisis Hotline and Emergency Shelter can be reached at 770-479-1703.
