Former suburban HS wrestling coach charged with child pornography possession

A suburban man accused of possessing child pornography has previously worked as a volunteer wrestling coach at Deerfield High School.

Officials confirmed that Crystal Lake-resident Alexander Evan Cohen had worked as an assistant volunteer coach with the boys wrestling team for two school years in a letter to parents in recent days.

Dr. Chala Holland, superintendent of schools at Township High School District 113, said in the letter that the school had confirmed Cohen’s work with the wrestling team during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, but emphasized that the charges do not appear to be related to incidents that happened while Cohen was coaching.

Holland said the school is “unaware of any allegations of criminal activity” during his tenure, and that they have not been contacted by police or prosecutors in the case.

Cohen was charged in Oct. 2024 on 10 counts of possession of child pornography, which allegedly depicted children being sexually assaulted, according to prosecutors.

A judge ruled Friday that Cohen would be detained pretrial, and his next court appearance is set on Thursday for a preliminary hearing in the case.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cohen’s attorney said there was no evidence their client had watched the videos in question, and had sought his release to be treated for “mental health illness,” a request that was denied.