James Anthony Cohen, 35, of Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida, United States worked at KinderCare, a daycare in Merritt Island, Brevard County. Employed as an instructional assistant for special needs students at Brevard Public Schools, he was assigned to Tropical Elementary School in Merritt Island.

Cohen is accused of possession videos and photos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The videos and videos are extremely disturbing, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

On January 24, 2023, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the CSAM videos and photos. That day, information from Cohen’s internet service provider Spectrum were subpoenaed.

On May 15, 2023, Spectrum returned the information to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Using the information, investigators identified a residence in Melbourne under Cohen’s and his father’s control as the source of the videos and photos.

On May 18, 2023, agents interviewed Cohen at his place of employment and executed a search warrant at his residence. One of the seized electronic devices contained 170 videos and 10 images of CSAM.

Upon the discovery of the evidence, an arrest warrant for Cohen was obtained. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with 10 counts of possessing material depicting the sexual performance of a child.

Right after the arrest, Cohen was removed from his position at KinderCare day care. He was also suspended from his job at Tropical Elementary School.

“This is a sick puppy,” Brevard County sheriff Wayne Ivey said of Cohen. “In my 42 years of law enforcement, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as disturbing as the videos that we have recovered as part of this case. When I say disturbing, I mean extremely disturbing, sickening, disgusting, any other word that you can apply to the word evil and concerning would tie into this.”