A longtime Santa Cruz neurosurgeon accused of raping and sodomizing multiple children wanted to impregnate women and create “sexual families,” according to a report.
James Kohut, who was arrested last month, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of child sex abuse in court Monday, Santa Cruz-area television station KSBW reported.
Prosecutors have alleged that Kohut has been preying on children for the past two decades, and that he wanted to impregnate women and raise the children sexually, according to court documents obtained by KSBW.
In one instance, Kohut told a woman he was in a relationship with that he wanted to impregnate her “so she could have a child and then they could be sexual with the child,” the document stated.
He allegedly admitted to the woman that he had previously been in a relationship with a mother of two children, a 13-year-old and a 4-year-old. Kohut told the woman he had sex in front of the two youngsters and fondled the teen, the document stated.
The woman told investigators that Kohut said he was “most interested” in children between 6 and 8 years old.
Another woman, from Australia, reported that the defendant told her he was looking for a woman to get pregnant; after, Kohut allegedly asked her if he could get her pregnant and raise the child “sexually,” according to prosecutors.
“Defendant then told her that if he had a daughter, he would want to impregnate her at the age of 10 and that child sexually as well,” the document stated.
Kohut allegedly admitted to having past sexual encounters with children, and asked the woman to volunteer at a homeless shelter or get babysitting jobs to find the young victims, she told authorities.
In another instance, a woman in Ohio who dated the suspect complained to the Seaside Police Department in 2005 that the defendant sent her child pornography and links to child porn when they dated. She recounted Kohut telling her he had sexual fantasies involving children, and had sex with a 9-year-old girl and her mother.
The doctor “has a specific desire to have sex with a mother and a daughter,” other witnesses told investigators, according to the document.
Kohut was arrested on May 9 in Arizona after Watsonville Police Department officials say they received a tape allegedly showing children being sexually abused, according to KSWB. Two nurses were also arrested in the following days.
The tape – which allegedly showed the two nurses committing graphic sex acts against three children — was described as “disgusting” and disturbing,” by police Capt. George Zamora.
“I can tell you it’s very disturbing. I have not seen a case like this in my career. It’s very sad,” he told the television station.
Kohut and the nurses – identified as Rashel Melina Brandon and Emily Joy Stephens – face a number of charges stemming from encounters with children between January 2016 and May 2017, including committing oral copulation, sexual penetration and sodomy against children, KSWB reported.
Each faces life in prison if convicted on the charges.
Prosecutors believe Kohut has been preying on children for about 20 years, and – according to the document – more victims have come forward since the initial filing.
Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore said has asked that the suspect remain jailed and held without bail.
Moore wrote, “No bail is appropriate based on the heinous nature of the crimes, the amount of punishment he faces, his significant wealth, and the potential danger to other children.”
Additionally, the assistant DA noted that Kohut was also considered a suicide risk and – because he had recently moved to another state – a flight risk.
During Monday’s court date, a judge gave Kohut the right to seek bail in a future appearance, saying the doctor was entitled to bail; the judge also ordered a report about the defendant’s finances to help determine a sufficient amount.
Kohut is scheduled to appear in court again later this month.
