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

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 List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. He is Jewish and has been a resident of

Roselle, New Jersey Roselle ( ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, an increase of 1,610 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,085, which in turn ref ...

. He received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from Athens College (now

Athens State University Athens State University is a Public university, public Upper division college, upper-division university in Athens, Alabama. Its academics are housed in three colleges: Education, Arts and Sciences, and Business. History Athens State Universit ...

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

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

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 blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

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 ...

. 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 (), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (, ) and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Je ...

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 follo ...

s enacted by the Administration of

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

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American lawyer and 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 dist ...

, 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 ...

from 1988 to 1990. He is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assemblywoman

Nia Gill Nia H. Gill (born March 15, 1948) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician, who represented the 34th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2024. She ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in the June 2012 primary ...

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 staf ...

. 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, confi ...

'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 abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Raymond Lesniak Raymond J. 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 the New Jersey Senate, Lesniak s ...

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 Jers ...

, 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 Joseph J. Roberts (born July 14, 1952) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1987 to 2010, where he represented the New Jersey's 5th legislative district ...

. 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 District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

Paula Dow Paula T. Dow (born 1955) is an American lawyer and judge. She 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. ...

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''
2007200620052004

District 20 WebpageAssembly Member Neil M. Cohen

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American 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 offic ...

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