Dartmouth man faces possession of child pornography charges

Dartmouth’s Jed Cohen, 74, has been charged with possession of child pornography, disseminating photographs of sexual or intimate parts of a child and paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Cohen was arraigned Wednesday, July 18 at the Boston Municipal Court in East Boston after a fellow passenger on a Nashville to Boston flight reported seeing disturbing photos and videos of prepubescent children on Cohen’s phone, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Judge Debra DelVecchio ordered Cohen to be held on a $10,000 bail with home confinement, including GPS monitoring if released. Cohen is due back in court on Friday, Aug. 16 for a probable cause hearing.

The flight on which the incident was reported was an inbound JetBlue flight from Nashville, according to Hayden. Massachusetts State Police were notified at approximately 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17 when the fellow passenger reported seeing the disturbing photos and Cohen engaging in “sickening” text message conversations.

According to Hayden, the witness said Cohen started this behavior before takeoff and was on his phone for most of the flight. Cohen was observed allegedly looking at multiple photos and videos of various girls, ranging from toddlers to around 10- and 11-year-olds.

The witness was able to provide the flight crew with descriptions of what they said to have observed, including questions such as how old the girls in the images were and how much it would cost to engage in sexual conduct, according to Hayden.

Additionally, a flight crew member also reported seeing two photos on Cohen’s phone. One allegedly showed a clothed girl, around 10, with pigtails. The second was of another girl, a little older, naked from the waist up.

When Troopers met the plane at Logan Airport, Cohen’s phone was unlocked and images and messages allegedly matching the witness and flight crew member’s descriptions were discovered, including underage girls in sheer lingerie and naked, according to Hayden. 

Troopers also were said to have found a photo of a prepubescent girl performing sexual acts on an adult male, to which Cohen sent a message saying, “I love her,” according to Hayden. Another message was said to contained Cohen inquiring about sexual encounters with a three-year-old at his condo for a fee.

Hayden said, “To call these allegations disturbing is a vast understatement.  Sexual exploitation of any kind inflicts lifelong scars, and the harm increases exponentially when the victims are children. I thank this passenger for alerting the flight crew and I’m grateful for the crew’s swift action in notifying authorities.”