Suspected child molester accepts plea

Kim Smith

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

A Las Vegas man accused of sexually abusing several young boys and making pornographic movies with others has entered a plea agreement that ensures his mother is safe from prosecution.

Russell Cohen, 40, entered the plea agreement after Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon grew weary of Cohen's attempts to slow the system down.

Herndon said Cohen has repeatedly caused delays in his case by entering plea agreements and then backing out of them, causing distress for the child victims in the case. On Thursday Herndon said he told Cohen that he was no longer going to offer a deal, instead he was going to charge him as an habitual criminal and was going to take a closer look at the evidence against his mother.

Cohen then agreed to plead guilty to sexual assault of a minor under 14, sexual assault of a minor under 16 and use of a minor in producing pornography. He faces 20 years to life in prison on the first two charges and five years to life on the third.

Whether the sentences should be served at the same time or one after the other will be argued at Cohen's sentencing on June 22, defense attorney Osvaldo Fumo said.

Herndon said he has considered filing charges against Cohen's mother because there is evidence she knew about Cohen's prior arrests in Florida and Georgia on molestation charges, but apparently did nothing to prevent the boys from coming to the house she shared with her son.

Fumo said part of the reason his client pleaded guilty Thursday was that District Judge Mark Gibbons declined to grant several motions, including one that requested certain evidence be dismissed.

In addition, Fumo said he believes police acted inappropriately when they arrested Cohen at his home without an arrest warrant.

Kim Smith covers courts for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2321 or by e-mail at kimberly@lasvegassun.com.