Former Minneapolis rabbi avoids jail time after being snared in online child-sex sting

By Sarah Norner
Pioneer Press
January 16, 2019

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Aryeh Leiv Cohen

A former rabbi at a Jewish learning center in Minneapolis won’t serve jail time for making arrangements online with someone he thought was a child for sex.

Aryeh Cohen, 44, received a stayed 30-day sentence from a Ramsey County district judge at his sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon.

The St. Louis Park man also was placed on probation for three years, ordered to serve 150 hours of community service, undergo mental health counseling and register as a sex offender.

Cohen was working as a rabbi and director of youth outreach for the Minneapolis Community Kollel when he was arrested last winter as part of a metro-area law enforcement sting aimed at combating online solicitation of sex with children. The operation was carried out in advance of Super Bowl LII, which was being held in Minneapolis on Feb. 4.

His sentencing came about two months after Cohen pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child after reaching a plea deal with the state.

A previous count related to the online solicitation of a child for sex was dropped.

Dozens were arrested in the operation, which involved law enforcement officers posing as underage girls or boys seeking cases on social media sites, including Craigslist, Plenty of Fish and Grindr, legal documents say.

Cohen was among those who responded to an ad and subsequently struck up a sexual conversation with an undercover agent, eventually texting the agent a picture of his genitalia, charges say. He was arrested when he allegedly arrived to meet an undercover agent in North St. Paul on Feb. 1.

Cohen’s attorney, Joseph Friedberg, declined to comment on the case Wednesday evening. He said Cohen opted against making a statement during his sentencing hearing.

After Cohen was charged, a spokesman for the learning center said the organization had never received a complaint about him during his employment, and that the community was “shocked” by the allegations.

Cohen was subsequently relieved of his duties there.