Case of Larry Cohen
(AKA: Lawrence Cohen)
DECEASED
Soccer Coach
Oregon City, OR
Lake Oswego, OR
Accused of molesting several former soccer players. Prosecutors said the incidents occurred between 1992 and 1997. He was charged with six counts of first-degree sex abuse, three counts of second-degree sex abuse, one count of first-degree sodomy, three counts of second-degree sodomy and one count of third-degree sodomy.
Other alleged survivors came forward once the case hit the news. These survivors stated they were molested by Cohen over twenty years ago.
After disappearing in 2002 and missing for four years, on 2006 Larry Cohen's body was found in Malaysia.
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2001
- Sex charges filed against local coach (09/13/2001)
- Cohen trial now delayed (04/18/2002)
- Soccer coach faces additional child sex charges (05/25/2002)
- Sex Abuse Suspect Arrested in Kansas (07/30/2003)
- K.C. Arrest Raises, Dashes Victims' Hopes (07/31/2003)
- Arrest Raises, Dashes Victim's Hopes (07/31/2003)
- Coach, On the Lam, Makes Contact (09/18/2003)
2006
- Body found may be fugitive Lake Oswego soccer coach (10/27/2006)
- Coach wanted for sex abuse found dead (10/27/2006)
- Fugitive coach is buried in Vancouver (11/02/2006)
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By Scott Hammers
Lake Oswego Review - September 13, 2001
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Lake Oswego Review - April 18, 2002
If you have a copy of this article, please forward it to The Awareness Center.
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May 25, 2002 - Oregonian
OREGON CITY -- A well-known Portland-area soccer coach accused of molesting a former player six years ago was charged Thursday with sexually abusing another boy about the same time.
Lawrence "Larry" Cohen, 61, of Lake Oswego was arraigned via video at the Clackamas County Courthouse on six counts of first-degree sex abuse, three counts of second-degree sex abuse, one count of first-degree sodomy, three counts of second-degree sodomy and one count of third-degree sodomy.
Cohen, who has been free on bail since September, turned himself back in to authorities Thursday morning. He will be housed at the Clackamas County Jail on $250,000 bail pending a release hearing today.
The new grand jury indictment includes charges made in September.
Prosecutors said incidents in the new charges happened between 1992 and 1997, starting when the victim was 12 years old.
Read story on Internet The second man came forward in April during a hearing on pretrial motions after reading a story from The Oregonian on the Internet. The new development pushed Cohen's trial, originally set for April, back to August.
The second man, now 22 and living out of state, is the fourth person to accuse Cohen of sex abuse. During April's pretrial motions, a man and a woman in their 30s told a Clackamas County judge that Cohen had sexually abused them more than 20 years ago. But the incidents occurred too long ago to be prosecuted, according to the district attorney's office.
Cohen was charged in September with three counts of first-degree sex abuse after a former player told his parents that Cohen had touched him intimately several times from 1995 to 1996. At the time, the boy was 12 and played on Cohen's team with the Gresham-based West Villa Soccer Club.
The boy kept silent until August, when he reported the incidents after watching a television program on abuse by coaches. The boy is now 17 and lives out of state.
Coach was popular Cohen, who has coached throughout the Portland area since the early 1970s, is popular among many of his former players for his generosity and opening his Lake Oswego home to youngsters, where many would spend the night. His supporters call his home a refuge for neighborhood children and soccer players. And he allowed those who came from troubled homes to live with him.
Cohen doesn't have a criminal record. A background check through the Oregon Youth Soccer Association turned up clean. The association, which registers clubs throughout the state, runs annual background checks on every coach registered in the database.
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The Oregonian - July 31, 2004
Summary: Kansas City police mistake a man being held with a Lake Oswego soccer coach accused of molesting two former players.. Police thought they had the right Larry Cohen.. The man they picked up Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., appeared to have the same name, same birthday, similar build and run-ins with the law as a Portland-area youth soccer coach who fled two years ago after he was charged with molesting two former players. But police discovered Friday that Lawrence Cohen of Kansas.
Full article: 528 words
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Sex Abuse Suspect Arrested in Kansas
The Oregonian - July 30, 2004
Kansas City police mistake a man being held with a Lake Oswego soccer coach accused of molesting two former players Police thought they had the right Larry Cohen.
The man they picked up Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., appeared to have the same name, same birthday, similar build and run-ins with the law as a Portland-area youth soccer coach who fled two years ago after he was charged with molesting two former players.
But police discovered Friday that Lawrence Cohen of Kansas City, Kan., was not the Lawrence Cohen who used to live in Lake Oswego.
The mistake has devastated Cohen's accusers, who said they were expecting a sort of closure after Clackamas County's Victims Assistance Program notified them Thursday of Cohen's arrest.
"Gosh, you get your hopes up and now you go back to being nervous and flustered," said one alleged victim. "So it wasn't him. Hopefully, the next time it will be."
Kansas City police arrested the Kansas City Cohen on Wednesday for disorderly conduct and giving a false police report three blocks from the Wyandotte County Detention Center, said Lt. James Eickhoff of the Wyandotte County sheriff's department.
The man told police he was born Oct. 19, 1941 -- exactly one year after Cohen of Lake Oswego was born. A warrant for the Portland-area fugitive's arrest came up through a national criminal information system.
Eickhoff said the Wyandotte County sheriff's department notified the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department that they had someone in custody who closely matched the fugitive's description -- a 62-year-old white male, 5-foot-9, 140 pounds.
According to his driver's license, Lake Oswego Cohen is 63 years old, 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds.
Clackamas County requested extradition. But because Cohen was behaving erratically and not communicating effectively, Eickhoff said Wyandotte County sheriff's officers could not bring him into a hearing until Friday. Cohen refused to sign the extradition.
Authorities also discovered that the man in custody had given them a false birth date. His real date of birth is Dec. 8, 1938, Eickhoff said. Since his Social Security number wasn't the same as the soccer coach, they decided they should confirm his identity.
Mug shots and fingerprints didn't match. The suspect in Kansas City has a full head of white hair, while the Lake Oswego man wanted by police is nearly bald.
Cohen coached for club teams and schools throughout the Portland area. He was released on bail in 2001 and scheduled to stand trial in April 2002. The trial was postponed after a second alleged victim came forward. A Clackamas County judge issued a warrant for his arrest in October 2002 after he failed to appear for a scheduled court date.
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By Tracy Jan
The Oregonian - July 31, 2004
Police mistake a man for a Lake Oswego soccer coach accused of molesting two former players.
Police thought they had the right Larry Cohen.
The man they picked up Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., appeared to have had run-ins with the law and the same name, same birthday and similar build as a Portland-area youth soccer coach who fled two years ago after he was charged with molesting two former players.
But police discovered Friday that Lawrence Cohen of Kansas City, Kan., was not the Lawrence Cohen who used to live in Lake Oswego.
The mistake has devastated Cohen's accusers, who said they were expecting a sort of closure after Clackamas County's Victims Assistance Program notified them Thursday of Cohen's arrest.
"Gosh, you get your hopes up and now you go back to being nervous and flustered," said one alleged victim. "So it wasn't him. Hopefully, the next time it will be."
Kansas City police arrested the Kansas City Cohen on Wednesday three blocks from the Wyandotte County Detention Center for disorderly conduct and giving a false police report, said Lt. James Eickhoff of the Wyandotte County sheriff's department.
The man told police he was born Oct. 19, 1941 -- exactly one year after Cohen of Lake Oswego was born. A warrant for the Portland-area fugitive's arrest came up through a national criminal information system.
Eickhoff said the Wyandotte County sheriff's department notified the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department that they had someone in custody who closely matched the fugitive's description -- a 62-year-old white male, 5-foot-9, 140 pounds.
According to his driver's license, Lake Oswego Cohen is 63 years old, 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds.
Clackamas County requested extradition. But because Cohen was behaving erratically and not communicating effectively, Eickhoff said Wyandotte County sheriff's officers could not bring him into a hearing until Friday. Cohen refused to sign the extradition.
Authorities also discovered that the man in custody had given them a false birth date. His real date of birth is Dec. 8, 1938, Eickhoff said. Since his Social Security number wasn't the same as the soccer coach, they decided they should confirm his identity.
Mug shots and fingerprints didn't match. The suspect in Kansas City has a full head of white hair, while the Lake Oswego man wanted by police is nearly bald.
Cohen coached for club teams and schools throughout the Portland area. He was released on bail in 2001 and scheduled to stand trial in April 2002. The trial was postponed after a second alleged victim came forward. A Clackamas County judge issued a warrant for his arrest in October 2002 after he failed to appear for a scheduled court date.
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Coach, On the Lam, Makes Contact
The Oregonian - September 18, 2003
Well-known youth soccer coach Larry Cohen, 63, disappeared last Oct. 2 before a hearing in Clackamas County court on charges that he had sexually abused two players.
Cohen, of Lake Oswego, had been involved in youth soccer in Lake Oswego, Estacada, Oregon City, East Portland and Gresham for almost 30 years. The charges stem from the mid-1990s when he was a coach for the West Villa Soccer Club in Gresham.
Rumors about his disappearance were rampant in the soccer community. Did he go to Central Oregon, where he liked to visit? Or South Korea, the birthplace of his wife? Or did he go off someplace to die?
Cohen was out on $250,000 bail when he disappeared; his mother and sister in England lost the $25,000 they had posted.
Investigators from the Clackamas County district attorney's office and Lake Oswego Police Department did some looking around Bend shortly after Cohen disappeared but haven't done a lot in the ensuing months to track him down.
Now, word is that 11 months after he took off, Cohen made contact by telephone with someone in the Portland-area soccer community. Scott Healy of the district attorney's office and Scott Thran of Lake Oswego told reporter Tracy Jan they're still confident they will catch up with Cohen one of these days but will begin an active search only if they get tips.
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Body found may be fugitive Lake Oswego soccer coach
By Scott Burton
NWCN - October 27, 2006
PORTLAND - It's a story of an international manhunt that may now have an ending. Police in Lake Oswego believe the body of Larry Cohen has been located in a Clark County grave.
Cohen skipped his $250,000 bail in October of 2002. The former Lake Oswego soccer coach was preparing to face charges of sodomy and molestation in Clackamas County when he failed to appear for a preliminary hearing. Police believe he fled to Malaysia where he could hide from extradition. Cohen was accused of molesting at least two of his young male soccer players in the mid to late 90's.
Now, four years since he disappeared, police have learned Cohen's body may be buried under an assumed name in Washington. Investigators have asked that KGW not reveal the location of his suspected grave or his assumed name due to the open nature of their investigation.
The Lake Oswego Police Department says a man believed to be Larry Cohen was arrested early this year in Malaysia on charges of identity fraud. When investigators there dropped the charges, the man was released. A short time later he died of unknown causes. According to Captain Don Forman of the Lake Oswego Police Department, "That person was taken from Malaysia to Clark County where that person was buried."
While the Lake Oswego Police Department has yet to confirm the body is indeed Cohen's, they feel fairly certain that they've found their man. A spokesman says they are in the process of trying to gain positive confirmation. He could not say when and how that process would proceed.
Newschannel 8 has learned that a hearing is in the scheduling stages in Clackamas County.
Prosecutors may ask for exhumation of this Clark County body to determine if it is indeed Larry Cohen. However, the deputy district attorney overseeing the case did not return calls Thursday for comment.
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Coach wanted for sex abuse found dead
KATU - Oct 27, 2006
MALAYSIA - Authorities are investigating reports that a missing Gresham soccer coach has been found dead in Malaysia.
Larry Cohen, who disappeared four years ago, was charged with sexually abusing former soccer players.
The Lake Oswego man was a coach for the West Villa Soccer Club in Gresham.
Cohen was out on bail on a $250,000 bond when he disappeared.
No cause of death has been announced.
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Lake Oswego Review - November 2, 2006
A Lake Oswego man's six-year flight from prosecution has ended in the grave.
Lawrence Cohen, 66, disappeared in October 2002 after he was charged with sexually abusing two male players during the mid-1990s. The boys were members of Gresham's West Villa Soccer Club.
Cohen, a jeweler who coached throughout the Portland area, was a resident of Lake Oswego at the time of his arrest.
A native of England, Cohen surrendered his American passport after his arrest. Cohen was preparing to face charges of sodomy and molestation in Clackamas County Circuit Court when he failed to appear for a preliminary hearing.
Family members reportedly posted a $25,000 bond, then he fled the country. FBI agents tracked him in Malaysia for about four years, said spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele.
While in Malaysia, Cohen reportedly changed his name to Gary Jones. FBI officials were nearing an arrest when Cohen died in July of a heart attack, said Deputy Clackamas County District Attorney Scott Healy.
The body eventually was transported to Vancouver in Clark County, Wash., where it was buried in a cemetery there.
Capt. Don Forman of the Lake Oswego Police Department told reporters "that person was taken from Malaysia to Clark County where that person was buried."
Healy confirmed that he was certain that Cohen and Jones were the same person and that the body buried in a Vancouver cemetery is that of Cohen. Healy noted that a funeral in Vancouver attracted 30 to 40 mourners, including Cohen's widow.
A lead investigator for the Clackamas County District Attorney's office reportedly has documents showing Larry Cohen changed his name to Gary Jones before he died.
Next week, Healy plans on requesting a hearing to officially dismiss the charges pending against Cohen.
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