Central Florida daycare worker arrested on child pornography charges

A 35-year-old man employed at both an elementary school and a daycare facility in Merritt Island was arrested for possession of child pornography charges.

James Cohen worked as an instructional assistant with special needs students at Tropical Elementary School and with young students at KinderCare daycare.

"When I say disturbing, I mean extremely disturbing," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a video posted to Facebook. “In my 42 years of law enforcement, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as disturbing as the videos that we have recovered as part of this case."

Deputies say the investigation started Jan. 24 when they received a tip about a flagged IP address from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The IP address matched a home in Melbourne where Cohen lived.

Investigators served a search warrant May 18 and seized two laptops, four cell phones and two tablets. Ivey said on one of those devices, deputies found 170 videos and 10 images depicting children and babies. Cohen admitted to downloading the content.

"What they found on that phone is probably the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my career," Sheriff Ivey said.

Cohen faces charges of 10 counts of possession of material depicting sexual performance of a child. While there were 170 videos found, Ivey said they picked the worst 10 to send the case to the state attorney's office and "secure him behind bars."

Cohen had no prior criminal history, Ivey said.

Cohen was immediately removed from the KinderCare facility and was suspended by the Brevard County School Board.


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