Scott Mitchell Cohen, Child Pornography Receipt and Possession, WA …

SEATTLE, WA – Scott Mitchell Cohen, 52, of Seattle, will spend the next 15 years behind bars after being sentenced today in U.S. District Court for receiving and possessing hundreds of images depicting the sexual abuse of children. This isn’t Cohen’s first rodeo; he’s a registered sex offender with a disturbing history of preying on minors.

The case, spearheaded by the Seattle Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), began to unravel when Google flagged suspicious activity – the uploading of child sexual abuse material via an email account. Investigators traced the IP address to a Seattle Public Library and later to a University District café, painstakingly uncovering Cohen’s attempts to mask his digital footprint with false identities. A search warrant executed at his University District apartment yielded a sickening haul: over 600 images and videos of child pornography stored on multiple devices.

This conviction isn’t an isolated incident. Court records reveal Cohen was previously convicted in 2005 of molesting a female under the age of 12, and ordered into extensive sexual deviancy treatment. That didn’t stick. In 2010, he was convicted of a second sex offense – possession of child pornography – and was on state probation at the time of his latest arrest. The man is a predator, plain and simple, and seemingly incapable of reform.

But the depravity didn’t stop with stored images. Investigators also discovered Cohen was actively engaging with a teenage girl in Texas, attempting to solicit sexually explicit images from her. This demonstrated a continued pattern of predatory behavior, fueling prosecutors’ push for the maximum possible sentence and a lifetime of supervised release. “The defendant has demonstrated that he poses a threat to the safety and well-being of minors in our communities,” prosecutors argued in a court filing. “He is either unwilling or unable to abide by society’s rules concerning sexual contact and interactions with minors.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez clearly agreed, imposing not only the 15-year prison sentence but also a lifetime period of supervised release. This case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation. The initiative marshals resources from federal, state, and local agencies to identify, apprehend, and prosecute offenders like Cohen.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson, a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor, prosecuted the case. This investigation serves as a grim reminder of the dark corners of the internet and the tireless work of law enforcement to protect vulnerable children. Anyone with information about suspected child exploitation is urged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) or their local law enforcement agency.

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