Dartmouth, MA Man Charged With Looking at Child Porn on Plane

BOSTON (WBSM) — A Dartmouth man faces multiple charges after he was allegedly watching child pornography on his phone and sending text messages allegedly attempting to set up sexual encounters with children, all while on a plane heading to Logan International Airport in Boston.

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, the man – identified as Jed Cohen, 74, of Dartmouth – is 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.

Cohen was on an inbound flight coming from Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, July 16. At about 8:15 p.m., Massachusetts State Police were notified that a passenger on the flight reported to the flight crew that another passenger, later identified as Cohen, was “viewing disturbing photos and having ‘sickening’ text message conversations,” the D.A.’s Office said.

“The witness said Cohen started this behavior before takeoff and was on his phone for most of the flight,” the D.A.’s Office said. “Cohen was observed looking at multiple photos and videos of various girls, ranging from toddlers to around 10-and-11-year-olds.”

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The witness told the flight crew they saw Cohen “asking on WhatsApp: ‘how old a girl is’—'answer was 4’—‘how young is she?’—'she’s five dear, she’s all you need’—'how much does it cost to (expletive) her for a night?’”

The D.A.’s Office also said a flight crew member reported seeing photos on Cohen’s phone of a clothed girl, around 10, with pigtails and another of a girl who was a little older but naked from the waist up.

State troopers met the plane at Logan and spoke to Cohen, who gave them the passcode to unlock his phone. On it, they found messages that matched the information the witness provided.

“They found photos of underage girls in sheer lingerie, including a photo of a naked underage girl,” the D.A.’s Office said. “Troopers also found a photo of a prepubescent girl performing sexual acts on an adult male, to which Cohen sent a message saying, ‘I love her.’”

“Investigators found additional messages containing videos and photos of sexual acts between adult males and underaged girls,” the D.A.’s Office said. “One message contained Cohen inquiring about sexual encounters with a three-year-old at his condo for a fee.”

Cohen was ordered held on $10,000 bail with home confinement including GPS monitoring if released. He is due back in court August 16.

“To call these allegations disturbing is a vast understatement,” D.A. Hayden said. “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.”