Thursday, October 15, 2009

Former Officer Sammy Cohen Accused of Making Child Porn Takes Stand

The former Anchorage police officer accused of making child pornography and molesting children says it's all a big misunderstanding.

Sammy Cohen testified again Thursday in his defense, offering an explanation for every allegation.

Four women came forward with accusations that Cohen sexually abused them or tried to. One woman said that when she was 13 Cohen took naked pictures of her.

The defense says there is no way to know for sure who took the pictures, but they have their own idea of what happened.

The former police officer searched for mail-order brides online and admitted to keeping a subscription to a porn site, but he says it didn't involve children.

"You would go to this site and you would look for foreign brides?" defense attorney John Cashion asked Cohen.

"Yes, sir," Cohen replied.

"In bitter frustration after some phone calls I would tell myself, ‘Well, there's got to be someone else out there that actually wants to be married and I started looking," Cohen continued.

Cohen also says other people had access to his home computer and that guests would use his user name and password.

His attorney claims someone else took nude photos of the teenage girl, who accused him of touching her along with taking the photos and he says whoever did that also manipulated the photos on his computer.

Cohen says the child porn found on disks in his home came like that when he ordered them on eBay.

As for the books with pictures of naked children, Cohen says he bought a whole box of books at a garage sale and had no idea what was inside.

The prosecuting attorney, John Skidmore, pressed Cohen in cross-examination.

"I'm asking, do you agree that some of your behaviors, they had interpreted as inappropriate?" Skidmore asked.

"To listen to them here in the courtroom, yes," Cohen replied.

He denied allegations that he bought a 13-year-old girl lingerie and watched her put it on. He says he wouldn't even know where to begin shopping for a teenager.

"Did you go out and purchase a purple bra, satin bra and underwear set?" Skidmore asked.

"No, sir," Cohen responded.

The prosecution claims Cohen's court testimony doesn't match up with police interrogations.

"These dating services, in 2000, ‘someone else did it for me, I didn't do it.' He's clearly said here that he did," Skidmore argued.

Cohen says he can't remember everything years later, but he says he didn't do it and wants to set the record straight.

During the cross-examination the prosecution noted Cohen's skill at manipulation and coercion -- skills he learned as a police officer.

Cohen agreed that he could get people to do what he wanted -- willingly.

Cohen will continue his testimony next week. That will be his third day on the stand.

No comments: