SAN FRANCISCO — A brain surgeon charged with sexually abusing children sought to impregnate women to create more victims and had been suspected of molesting youngsters for years, northern California prosecutors said Monday.
Prosecutors made the allegations as they sought to deny Dr. James Kohut bail while he awaits trial on 11 charges related to child sex abuse.
Several women who had relationships with Kohut said the doctor wanted to have children with them to create "'taboo' families where the parents raise their children sexually," Assistant District Attorney Steven Moore said in court documents.
Moore said women identified in the documents only by their initials said Kohut "has a specific desire to have sex with a mother and a daughter."
A judge said Kohut was entitled to bail and ordered a report about his finances to help determine an amount.
Kohut and two nurses were arrested last month after police in Watsonville, Calif., received a video allegedly showing sexual abuse of children. Police seized photographs and another video from one of the nurses depicting abuse, court documents said.
Kohut had been hired by Sparks Health System in Fort Smith but was fired May 15 after about two weeks, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. The Arkansas Medical Board issued an emergency suspension of his medical license last month.
Kohut's attorney, Jay Rorty, last week requested bail for Kohut and argued that none of the evidence seized by police implicated Kohut.
In his court filings, Rorty did not address the claim that Kohut wanted to impregnate women so he would have more victims. Rorty in a telephone interview declined to comment on the allegation.
Moore said in documents filed Friday that Kohut has been previously investigated by the FBI, Australian police and others for child sex abuse. No charges were filed, the documents said.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel first reported on the filings.
Kohut previously pleaded not guilty to 10 felony charges. The district attorney's office added another felony charge last week after another alleged victim came forward.
Rorty also said Kohut is not a flight risk and has no criminal record.