Houston man who adopted 9 boys charged with multiple counts of child sexual abuse (Graphic content)

HOUSTON. A Houston man who adopted nine boys is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of them.

Chaim Nissim Cohen, 38, was charged with persistent child sexual abuse and two counts of sexual abuse of a child under 17.

According to court documents, he is also accused of repeated rape and sexual abuse of other adopted sons.

The investigation began after a 17-year-old son called into a podcast and told listeners that he had been sexually abused by his adoptive father (Cohen) since the age of 11. He said that his adoptive siblings had also been sexually abused on numerous occasions.

The boy told listeners that Child Protective Services conducted eight investigations, but Cohen always threatened or bribed the victims not to tell the truth, according to court documents.

The teenager said he had a backup phone so Cohen wouldn’t catch him calling.

Other members of the podcast urged the teenager to help himself and his brothers. He said he waited until he was 18 to report Cohen to law enforcement.

*All information below is taken from court documents.

According to court records, a CPS investigator found out about the podcast, tracked down the IP address, and contacted the 17-year-old.

During the interview, the investigator turned on the podcast and said that the boy was “visibly frightened and trembling”. He confirmed that he called.

The teenager then began to describe what goes on behind closed doors. These are some of the accusations. Further, everything from the charging document.

• He said Cohen’s abuse began three weeks after his 2016 adoption.
• He said that Cohen had the boys massage his legs before molesting them and forcing them to have sexual intercourse with him.
• When he turned 14, the teenager said that Cohen began to rape him.
• He said that Cohen forced him and his younger brothers, now 16 and 14, to perform oral sex on him and each other while he watched. He said the 16-year-old ran away but was brought back to the house by police deputies.
• He said that two 10-year-old brothers said they had also been abused, but the teen said he had not witnessed it. He said that when Cohen called one of the boys to his room, they all knew what it meant.
• Cohen also verbally abused his sons, calling them “white trash” and “racist”, according to the teen.
• He said that Cohen uses a wheelchair and oxygen tanks in public places or when people come, but not when he is alone with his sons.
• The boy said that Cohen had warned him that if he told anyone, it would be his word against Cohen and his siblings.

He told the investigator that he was “not brave enough to say anything.”

These were not the first allegations of sexual assault against Cohen.

In 2019, he was charged with indecency with a child after a foreign exchange student living with a family told his school principal that Cohen had abused him.

The boy from Spain at that time was 16 years old.

He told police that Cohen would make him feel guilty if he did something wrong, like leaving his clothes on the floor or not cleaning up after himself. Cohen said the boy’s behavior “made him sad,” so the boy “needed to make him happy.”

The student said Cohen started petting him in the bedroom after the other boys had gone to sleep. A few months later, according to court documents, Cohen began forcing the victim to have sexual intercourse with him.

“Behavior turns inside out. It’s worse than we could even imagine, so many feelings and emotions that it’s hard,” said Sherry Scott, the victim’s lawyer.

“The student said he did it because he felt that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to finish the year and would lose one school year if he was sent back,” court documents say.

Cohen was indicted in October 2019.

The 17-year-old accused of the most recent allegations told a CPS investigator that when Cohen was in court on the charges, he pretended to cough uncontrollably. The defendant also claimed that he was in hospice due to a terminal illness.

The judge released him on $75,000 bail and Cohen returned home, where the 17-year-old said the violence had resumed. The 2019 case is still pending.

In 2021, an exchange student filed a lawsuit against Cohen and ERDT, the student exchange organization that placed him with the defendant.

CPS reported that all the children were later taken away from home and are now in foster care.

Editor’s note: KHOU 11 compiled a profile of Cohen and his nine sons in 2019 before any of the allegations were known. He was not charged at the time.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of child abuse of any kind, we can help you. You can start by contacting one of these agencies or organizations.

• Children’s Assessment Center 1-800-252-5400
• Help for children 1-800-4-A-CHILD
• Juvenile Division of the Houston Police Department 713-731-5353
• Outlaws of Houston 713-521-4600

You can also tell an adult you trust, such as a teacher, principal, or school counselor, about this.