SANTA CRUZ >> Despite arguing that Dr. James Kohut has a compulsion to commit sex crimes; is wealthy enough to walk down to the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor and buy a boat; and wrote a suicide note on the first night of his incarceration, Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore failed to carry adequate burden to withhold bail, according to Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Samuel Stevens during a hearing Monday.
However, due to uncertainty regarding Kohut’s precise amount of wealth, Stevens scheduled the bail setting for June 28 to obtain the Kohuts’ 1040 tax forms. Kohut and his wife have begun the process of separation, according to defense attorney Jay Rorty, and the assets are currently being divided.
In his arguments, Moore revealed that Kohut, who is being held in the medical wing of the Santa Cruz County Jail, wrote a suicide note.
“Bail is only effective when someone will return to court because they can envision a life beyond four cement walls,” said Moore.
If convicted, Kohut faces a 165-year prison term.
Rorty said Kohut is no longer on suicide watch and medical professionals have since judged Kohut to no longer be a suicide risk. Rorty said the note was simply the result of a “dark night of the soul” that anyone in a similar situation would encounter.
“I’m not taking into account at all whether he’s going to commit suicide,” said Stevens. “That’s up to him.”
Moore also argued that Kohut would be a danger to the public if allowed free on bail, stating that Kohut has solicited victims for decades.
“Multiple police agencies have investigated the defendant over the last 20 years, including the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Seaside police, Australian Federal Police as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to Moore.
Rorty responded that Kohut had not been prosecuted in any of those investigations. He also cited email exchanges during an FBI sting in which Kohut suggested he was guilty only of “thought crime” and his compulsions had not “veered into reality.”
Rorty acknowledged that his client would be agreeable to restrictions on Kohut if Stevens grants bail on June 28, including no internet access; house arrest and electronic monitoring; and no mobile or landline telephone access.
Moore said it was unreasonable to believe Kohut could not find access to the internet in this day and age.
“At this point, a refrigerator can talk to the internet,” said Moore.
Kohut and two other defendants — Watsonville nurse Rashel Brandon and Arizona nurse Emily Stephens — are charged with multiple sex crimes against children.
From Jan. 1, 2016, to May 15, Kohut allegedly had sex, including oral, with a boy and girl younger than 10. During that time, Kohut also is accused of committing forced lewd acts on a boy younger than 14, according to court documents.
On May 9, Kohut, Brandon and Stephens also allegedly committed forced sexual acts with three boys younger than 14 — one was 3 years old — and a girl younger than 14, according to court documents.
Brandon is being held in Santa Cruz County Jail. Stephens is fighting extradition from Pima County, Arizona.
Both the District Attorney’s Office and Kohut’s defense acknowledged that they are waiting to see what happens in terms of Stephens’ extradition.
Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter Michael Todd contributed to this report.
