Crime & Safety
Watsonville Woman Gets Charges Reinstated In SC Child Rape Case
A judge reinstated 12 charges against two girlfriends of a surgeon who was also charged in the case and killed himself in jail, KSBW said.
SANTA CRUZ, CA — A Santa Cruz County judge reinstated 12 charges against two women accused of child molestation, KSBW reported. Both Rashel Brandon, 44, of Watsonville and Emily Stephens, 31, of Tucscon, Arizona now face 43 charges.
Prosecutors say the women were girlfriends of James Kohut, who faced similar charges and killed himself in his jail cell last year, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. Kohut was a brain surgeon at Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center and Dominican Hospital, accused of contacting women online and sharing plans to impregnate them and have sex with the children to create "taboo families," court documents show, according to the Sentinel.
Brandon was a nurse. Stephens was reportedly pregnant with Kohut's child at the time of her arrest.
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The charges date back to 2017, court records show.
Kohut initially faced 11 charges but faced 48 after his brother gave law enforcement a video filmed in Watsonville showing unspecified defendents raping a 3-year-old and 10-year-old boy multiple times, the Sentinel reported.
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More at KSBW and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
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