Neil M. Cohen (born February 11, 1951) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician, who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

from 1994 to 2008 where he represented the 20th Legislative District. He had also served in the Assembly from the 21st District from 1990 to 1992. Cohen resigned from the legislature abruptly in 2008 amidst an investigation into his possession of child pornography. Facing up to thirty years in prison, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child endangerment through distribution of pornography and was sentenced to only five years. He served two before his release on parole in 2012.

Early life

Cohen was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Roselle, New Jersey Roselle (, ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,085,B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Athens College (now

Athens State University Athens State University is a public upper-division university in Athens, Alabama. Its academics are housed in three colleges: Education, Arts and Sciences, and Business. History Athens State University is Alabama's oldest educational institution ...

) in History and was awarded a J.D. from the

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

Career

Cohen served in the Assembly as Deputy Majority Leader from 2002 until his resignation, was the Deputy Minority Leader from 1996–2001 and was Minority

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1994–1995.Assemblyman Cohen's legislative web page

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. Accessed April 18, 2008. Cohen served in the Assembly on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee (as Chair) and the Labor Committee. As Assemblyman, Cohen sponsored measures establishing Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day and

Holocaust Remembrance Day Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( he, יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה, , lit=Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (יום השואה) and in English as Holocaust Reme ...

programs in New Jersey. He was the co-sponsor of a ban on

semi-automatic firearm A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm (fully automatic and selective fire firearms are also variations on self-loading firearms), is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism ''automatically'' loads a follow ...

s enacted by the Administration of

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...

, and was one of only three Democrats to oppose the Florio Administration's income tax increase. Cohen served on the Union County

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...

from 1988 to 1990. He is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assemblywoman Nia Gill of the 34th Legislative District. Cohen was an aide in 1976 to the Deputy Commissioner of the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff o ...

. From 1979–1981, he was a trial attorney in the Office of the Public Defender.Assemblyman Neil Cohen
njcommunityfirst.com. Accessed May 17, 2007.

Sex offenses

Cohen was hospitalized and placed in psychiatric care on July 24, 2008, after investigators from the

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...

's office removed a state-issued computer from his legislative office following allegations the computer had been used to store

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Raymond Lesniak Raymond J. "Ray" Lesniak (born May 7, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1983 to 2018, where he represented the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, t ...

and Assemblyman

Joseph Cryan Joseph P. Cryan (born September 1, 1961 in East Orange, New Jersey) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2018, representing the 20th Legislative District. He previously served in the New Je ...

, who represent the same district and share a common office in Union Township, notified authorities after staffers had discovered the material on the computer in question. Cohen resigned from the General Assembly on July 28, 2008, submitting a one-sentence letter of resignation stating "Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, effective immediately", and offering no explanation for his actions. The resignation was accepted at once by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts. Democratic committee members from the district selected Annette Quijano to fill Cohen's vacancy. Cohen was indicted for official misconduct (2nd degree), reproduction of child pornography (2nd degree), distribution of child pornography (2nd degree), and possession of child pornography (4th degree). In a plea agreement, the state dropped the official misconduct charge and three of four child pornography counts, and on April 12, 2010, Cohen pleaded guilty to the charge of endangering the welfare of a child by distributing child pornography. With the possibility of up to 30 years imprisonment,

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...

Paula Dow Paula T. Dow (born 1955) served as the 58th Attorney General of New Jersey, appointed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. Her nomination to a full term was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in February 2010. She is the first African-American wom ...

sought a five-year prison term for Cohen, as well his disbarment. He was sentenced to five years and was incarcerated from November 4, 2010, until January 4, 2012, when he was released on parole.

References

External links

Assemblyman Cohen's legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2007200620052004District 20 WebpageAssembly Member Neil M. Cohen

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

New Jersey Voter Information Biography for 2003 Race
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Neil M. 1951 births American people convicted of child pornography offenses Jewish American state legislators in New Jersey Living people Athens State University alumni Howard University alumni County commissioners in New Jersey New Jersey lawyers Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Union County, New Jersey People from Roselle, New Jersey New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American legislators American politicians convicted of sex offences 21st-century American Jews Prisoners and detainees of New Jersey 21st-century New Jersey politicians