News

Transylvania man, 68, draws long sentence in sex case

Robert Owen Couvillon

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 10, 2026

A 68-year-old Lake Toxaway man, Robert Owen Couvillon, received a sentence of up to 48 years in prison last week after pleading guilty in Transylvania Superior Court to four counts of statutory sex offense with a person 15 years of age or younger, District Attorney R. Andrew Murray announced. 

In July of 2024, deputies with the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a 16-year-old female juvenile had been sexually abused. The subsequent investigation revealed that Couvillon routinely physically, mentally and sexually abused the girl between the ages of 13 and 16, Murray said in a news release.

The case was calendared for a special two-week term of Superior Court beginning on Aug. 3. The first couple of days of the special session were consumed by the state contesting several motions filed by the defendant’s attorneys. Prosecutors prevailed on all of the motion’s arguments and then proceeded to select and empanel a jury.

On the fourth day of the special trial setting, as the state was set to begin the actual trial with the testimony of the young victim, the defendant changed course and elected to plead guilty as charged to all four statutory sex-offense charges.

At sentencing, prosecutors requested the maximum punishment allowed by law. After hearing from both sides, Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer sentenced the defendant to two prison terms of at least 16 years and up to 24 years, 3 months with the remaining counts consolidated. The judge ordered that the sentences are to run consecutively for a total of 32 years minimum, 48½  years maximum.

Assistant District Attorneys R. Talmadge Reeves and Michael VanBuren handled the prosecution and sentencing of the defendant. Murray thanked Detective Adam W. Summey and the team at the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office for their professional and thorough investigation and also thanked the teams at Southmountain Child Advocacy Center, Mission Hospital, Safelight, and the Aiken County, South Carolina, Sheriff’s Office for their specialized support in various aspects of the case.  This was a difficult and emotional case for everyone involved. Through hard work and perseverance as a collaborative team, we were thankfully able to attain justice for a vulnerable child.

“Protecting the vulnerable is one of our highest duties,” Murray said. “By securing a 32-year sentence that ensures this monster will never walk free again, we send an unyielding message to those with depraved hearts that would even consider hurting a child: children's safety is non-negotiable, their voices matter, and accountability is absolute."