New York City gay nightlife entrepreneur Michael J. Cohen is being accused of sexual misconduct by numerous young gay men over the past decades including accusations that he groped or pressured men to have sex or send nude photos, as well as a claim of sexual assault — from nine people who told NBC News about their experiences over the past decade.
Via NBC News: Accusers include Charles Battersby, who said Cohen repeatedly groped his genitals and buttocks, without consent, at parties Cohen hosted at Goldbar. The instances began in 2015, when Battersby was 19, he said. – Stephen Carlstrom, who was modeling while attending college, said that in 2017, Cohen offered him pay for attending parties, in exchange for oral sex. Carlstrom said he felt coerced, and he complied, but the job never came through. Several others spoke with NBC under condition of anonymity, but none of the accusers reported the incidents to police. Some of the men were newly out and said they thought such conduct was typical in the community, and others, especially those under 21, said they considered it the price of admission to fashionable parties.
In seven of the nine cases, NBC News talked to witnesses, partners or friends who said the men had told them of the encounters afterward. Three of the nine men provided screenshots of private conversations they had on social media with Cohen in which Cohen repeatedly asked the men to have sex with him or asked for explicit photos, the screenshots show.
Cohen who has hosted gay parties at glamorous New York nightclubs — including Goldbar, PHD Rooftop Lounge at the Dream Downtown hotel and Fishbowl at the Dream Midtown hotel could not be reached for comment.
