Civil trial begins for former minister accused of sex trafficking his preteen daughter

WILMINGTON, Del. -- A former pastor is scheduled to go on trial in federal civil court this week, facing allegations he raped and sexually trafficked his then preteen daughter in Delaware and elsewhere.

Two years ago, Alicia Cohen filed suit against Ron Cohen, her father, claiming that as he built a reputation and business as a holy man in Delaware, he was using his Newark-area Miracle Tabernacle church as a front to sell her pre-teen body to other men and filmed and sold the footage.

Since then, the case has winded through the court and is set for a jury trial Monday in Wilmington that could feature testimony from both Cohens.

In court filings and in a 2019 phone interview, Ron Cohen, who was living and conducting ministry in North Carolina at that time, said the allegations contained in the lawsuit are untrue, defame him and he is not liable for damages.

Christofer C. Johnson, Ron Cohen's Delaware attorney and a Wilmington City councilman, did not reply to an email seeking comment for this story.

After hearing testimony for multiple days, the jury will be asked to return several verdicts based on whether they believe Ron Cohen broke a host of federal and state laws pertaining to rape, sexual trafficking and exploitation.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Ron Cohen has not been charged with any criminal offense.

IN DEPTH: Former holy man accused of trafficking daughter for sex

The jury will also be asked whether the court should bar Ron Cohen, who also goes by Rafi and Ronald, from having any role with organizations that serve children, including orphanages, churches, and children’s ministries.

In a written statement from 2019, Alicia Cohen's attorney said she wanted her story told to empower others who might have been victimized by her father to speak up.

She gave permission for the USA TODAY Network to use her name and publish a photograph of her showing her at the age she claims to have been raped.

Alicia Cohen's lawsuit states the abuse began in 1983, about seven years after Ron Cohen came to Delaware. The Cohens eventually settled into a home in the Deacon's Walk neighborhood of Pike Creek, where most of the abuse occurred, the lawsuit states.

The allegations in the lawsuit against Ron Cohen include that he had a mock bedroom set up in the basement of the home where he would film himself and others raping his daughter as well as her having sex with other children.

He allowed her to be raped by men he did business with, church associates and others, court documents state. He would sell videos depicting her rape alongside videos of his ministry, the lawsuit claims.

More: Pastor who worked in Delaware schools removed after sex misconduct allegations

The abuse ended when she began menstruating, but threats to keep her silent continued, the lawsuit states.

Alicia Cohen hurt herself in the seventh grade, was suicidal in college and thought about taking her life for the next 20 years, the lawsuit says. Her attorneys have argued she deserves compensation for the mental anguish that the lawsuit claims was caused by the alleged abuse.

It is likely that the timing of her raising the allegations will be the subject of attorneys' arguments at trial. Alicia Cohen did not speak of her abuse for years and she repressed the memories into her 30s, court documents state.

Part of Ron Cohen's defense strategy ahead of trial has been to cast doubt on the idea that such memories could be repressed.

"Basically a therapist suggested, 'Did you think that ever happened or this ever happened?" Ron Cohen said in his 2019 phone call with the USA TODAY Network.

At the time, Dan Stephenson, Alicia Cohen's attorney, said "the level of verifiable detail" shows his client's memories could not have been "fabricated in counseling." Ahead of trial, he declined comment for this story.

Much of the pretrial briefing has focused on which medical and psychological experts should be allowed to testify at trial and the validity of memory repression.

Experts have argued repression of memories is a common way child sex abuse victims cope with the anxiety, depression and other negative effects of youth sex abuse and it often takes decades for people to come to terms with that abuse.

In court filings, Ron Cohen's attorneys have sought to characterize that as bad science.

Pretrial briefings by Ron Cohen's attorneys have also sought to limit opposing attorneys from characterizing Ron Cohen as a liar, who uses false claims about spirituality to make money.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Trial begins for minister accused of sex trafficking preteen daughter