SANTA CRUZ — A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge said Monday that he will consider bail for the neurosurgeon accused of numerous sex crimes against children, but put off setting an amount until attorneys have reviewed his tax records and determined the extent of his wealth.
James Kohut has been held without bail in Santa Cruz County Court since his May 14 arrest.
He previously pleaded not guilty to 10 felony charges, but he entered the same plea Monday to an additional charge that was added after an additional victim came forward.
He will stay in jail until the June 28 hearing, when Judge Samuel Stevens will set a bail amount and set the conditions under which he can be released.
That could include electronic monitoring and no internet or cell phone, all of which Kohut would agree to, said his attorney Jay Rorty.
Stevens also warned Kohut against having any contact with his victims or their families, should he be released.
Still, the decision was disappointing to Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Steve Moore, who said that releasing Kohut would pose an “unacceptable risk” to the community.
“Mr. Kohut represents a clear, ongoing danger to the community,” Moore said outside court. “Our position was that Mr. Kohut should not be released on any amount of bail. The court disagreed with that.”
Kohut faces 11 charges including lewd and lascivious acts on children under 10.
Moore said Kohut has a history dating back 20 years of similar crimes, and that Kohut has been investigated several times in the past by agencies that include the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australian police.
“He has a history that demonstrates a level of compulsivity,” Moore said. “We have evidence of him talking to other individuals that make him an ongoing danger to real children in the community.”
Rorty, however, said that none of those investigations have resulted in charges.
Moore argued against bail for Kohut, saying his wealth would allow him to post virtually any amount.
Kohut owns several properties in Santa Cruz, and as a doctor on call earned thousands of dollars a night, Moore said. He added a high bail amount would compel him to return to court.
To further complicate matters, Kohut is separating from his wife and the two are dividing their assets, Rorty said.
But Stevens rejected this idea, saying he was hesitant to raise suspects’ bail amounts based on their income or personal worth simply to make it more difficult for them to get out.
“I’m skeptical that you have presented clear and convincing evidence that he meets any of the criteria for no bail by my reading of our constitutional law,” he said.
In arguing against Kohut’s release, Moore said that he is “mentally unstable,” and said Kohut recently wrote in jail about his desire to commit suicide, Moore said.
Rorty said that Kohut has since seen a psychologist, who determined he is no longer a suicide risk.
Stevens said that he would not consider Kohut’s suicidal statements or attempts in the bail hearing.
Also in court on Monday, Stevens approved a request by the California Attorney General to suspend his medical license in California.
Kohut is accused of participating in sex acts on children with nurses Rashel Brandon, 42, and Emily Stephens, 29.
The case was launched when Brandon’s husband brought a video of those sex acts to the Watsonville Police Department.
Brandon is in custody at Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Stephens was arrested at her residence in Pima County, Ariz. on May 12. She is fighting extradition.
Authorities have taken seven children into protective custody, ranging from 3 to 13, but have not said how the children are related to the suspects.
Authorities have not said how the trio knew each other.
