TikTok star ‘rabbi’ who adopted nine boys as a single dad is charged with raping son, 17

Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, is accused of molesting his other children after ‘victim’ called into podcast with allegations

He is in custody in Texas on 13 counts of sexual abuse of at least six of his nine children, including the sexual assault and continuous sex abuse of a child

He’s also said to have faked his Judaism and chronic illness

Six of Cohen’s sons have since been removed from the home and placed in protective care

It was not the first time Cohen had been accused

He was out on bond over a 2019 case in which he was accused of sexual contact by an exchange program student from Spain, who was staying with him

Cohen amassed a social media following, showcasing his large family’s religious lifestyle, advocating for single men adopting children

A ‘rabbi’ who gained fame on social media for adopting nine boys as a single father was arrested after one of his sons accused him of years of sexual abuse.
Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, was charged in February with sexual assault and continuous sex abuse of a child under 17, after one of his sons called into a podcast to report the alleged crimes.
The teenager claimed Cohen had abused a number of his brothers and threatened to kill them if they ever revealed the assault.
Six of Cohen’s children have since been removed from the home and placed in protective care.
Cohen is in custody in Texas on 13 counts of sexual abuse of at least six of his nine children.
The single dad paraded his children, all of whom are adopted, on social media and built a brand out of his Orthodox Jewish life.
Behind the scenes, he was allegedly raping his children and forcing them to perform sexual acts on each other.
Six of Cohen’s children have since been removed from the home and placed in protective care.

It was not the first time Cohen had been accused. He was out on bond over a 2019 case in which he was accused of sexual contact by a student from Spain, now 20, who was staying with Cohen during an exchange program.
Cohen faces two further accusations – faking his Orthodox Jewish heritage and his alleged disabilities. Although he claims he was raised in the Hasidic community in New York City, records showed Cohen, who lives in Houston was born Jeffrey Lujan Vejil in Odessa, Texas, according to Reduxx.
He regularly posed for photos while hooked up to an oxygen tank and in a wheelchair but his adopted sons claimed even this was faked. 
The unnamed boy called in to a podcast recording on February 1. He accused Cohen of sexual misconduct, and used the word ‘rape’ to describe the serial sexual abuse he claims to have experienced since his adoption at the age 11. 

The teen said he used a burner phone to avoid detection from Cohen, adding that his plan was to wait until he turned 18, before reporting the assault to authorities. The caller wished to remain anonymous until then, out of his fear of Cohen.
The podcasters later called police, who were able to trace the phone and then went to see the boy. Initially he denied he had made the accusations, but later ‘became visibly scared, shaking, and held his head down’ when police played him a recording of the call. 
He eventually admitted he was the one who made the call, and told police he was ‘not brave enough to say anything’ about the abuse, according to ABC 7.

Chief prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Crimes Against Children Division, Janna Oswald, detailed some of the allegations against Cohen to the Houston Chronicle, saying he would allegedly lock the boys in a room for long stretches of the day, then force them to engage in sexual acts when he released them.
One 16-year-old victim said Cohen would pepper spray them if they refused to comply.
Oswald alleged Cohen intentionally used the guise of religion and a facade on social media to try to hide his predatory nature and crimes.

Blindskinnedbeauty original Yuyu podcast call with teen complainant

That social media presence included a TikTok page with over 200,000 followers, along with widely viewed YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram profiles.
On those accounts, Cohen and his family would showcase their religious lifestyle, and the adoptive patriarch advocated for single men to adopt children.
‘Our mission is to help provide support and understanding from a Jewish perspective. Our goal is to reach out to other homeschooling families in order to create a network,’ Cohen wrote on his website. 
‘We are open to all levels of observance. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions!’
But some accused Cohen of fabricating that religious lifestyle and background.

On social media and in public, Cohen often appeared in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask.
His own adoptive sons said even that was a fabrication, with one boy telling KTRK ‘everything [Cohen] does is fake.’
‘The (teen) stated that (Cohen) only uses his wheelchair when people come over or when he is in public,’ Cohen’s charging document read.
‘The (teen) stated that (Cohen) has six oxygen tanks and does not use them and that (Cohen) only coughs uncontrollably when he is in court.’

The attorney representing the exchange student Cohen was accused of molesting in 2019 told ABC13 the charges against him were no surprise.
‘There were so many red flags,’ said Sherry Chandler. 
‘We all suspected (Cohen) is a pedophile. You don’t just start one day. We all suspected the other kids were getting abused.’
In that case, the student complained to the Sharpstown High School about Cohen’s behavior. 
The student is suing Cohen and the group that placed him at his house, according to ABC 13.