Rutgers Dean Accused Of Taking Upskirt Videos Back In Court Thursday

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The Rutgers professor accused of taking "up skirt" videos with his cell phone appeared in court this week.

Joshua Kohut, 51, appeared Thursday morning in Middlesex County Superior court, in Judge Colleen Flynn's courtroom.

Kohut is accused of using his personal cell phone to record "upskirt videos," New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in August. This happened on the Rutgers campus in New Brunswick, she said. She has not answered when asked if his alleged victim, or victims, were Rutgers students.

Kohut is charged with one count of fourth-degree invasion of privacy, a felony crime.

Kohut is a dean of research at Rutgers' School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He got his PhD at Rutgers, and his work in marine sciences has taken him all over the world; online photos show him in Antarctica and working with students out at sea. He has done a lot of research in high-frequency radar and underwater glider technologies.

Kohut was arrested in late August. Detectives obtained a search warrant to seize five of his personal electronic devices, and one of the seized devices was found to contain ‘upskirt’ videos of another individual’s intimate parts, in underwear, said the Attorney General.

“The defendant is alleged to have used his mobile phone to record ‘upskirt’ videos without his victim’s knowledge,” said Davenport. “An invasion of privacy like this is not just disturbing, it is also a criminal act. We will prosecute accordingly.”

If convicted, he is facing up to 18 months in prison. Thursday morning was a pre-indictment conference for Kohut; that is a hearing where the judge hears from both sides, the prosecutor and defendant, and attempts are made to resolve the case before it goes to a grand jury for an indictment hearing.

Kohut has not been indicted.

The Attorney General has also not offered him a plea deal, said Kohut's criminal defense attorney, Oleg Nekritin, with the law offices of Robert De Groot in Newark.

In the courtroom Thursday, a lawyer for the prosecutor (AG Davenport) said their team is still continuing their investigation. Kohut's next scheduled court date is Dec. 3, back in Judge Flynn's courtroom in New Brunswick.

After Kohut was arrested and criminally charged in August, Rutgers placed him on a paid leave; he is being paid his yearly salary of $203,412. He is not allowed to set foot back on campus until the criminal case is resolved.

"The university placed Josh Kohut on administrative leave after being informed of the extremely disturbing charges," said a Rutgers spokeswoman at the time. "The research dean also is banned from campus pending the outcome of an investigation."

Kohut lives in Cranbury. He grew up in New Jersey, on Barnegat Bay and that is where his interest in the ocean started, according to this profile of him on the Rutgers website.

When the Attorney General first announced the criminal charge against Kohut, her office included this: "If you or anyone you know may have been a victim of this defendant, you may contact the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety at: Lt. Jon Norcia 609-780-5449 or NorciaJ@njdcj.org."

Initial report: Rutgers Dean Accused Of Taking Upskirt Videos On His Phone (Aug. 25)

carly.baldwin@patch.com