Days after surrendering on a federal child pornography charge, Boca Raton lawyer Darryl Kogan appears poised to return to court and resolve the case.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian set Kogan's change-of-plea-and-sentencing hearing for 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 15. She asked prosecutors Tuesday to provide a written account of the case facts at least 48 hours before the hearing, along with a list of the maximum penalties Kogan faces and the terms of any negotiated plea agreement.
If no agreement exists, she said, prosecutors must tell her so. She also warned that if Kogan's sentence includes prison, deputies will take him into custody at the end of the hearing. Damian said she'll consider a delayed surrender date only if Kogan cooperates with the government
and if prosecutors support the request.
Kogan faces one count of trying to view child pornography, a charge punishable by five to 20 years in prison. The judge's scheduling order Tuesday comes on the heels of his first and only court appearance, in which he pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial.
Kogan co-founded the firm Kogan & DiSalvo in 1994 and retired this year, paving the way for the firm's rebrand to Baker & DiSalvo. He is represented by David Markus, Ghislaine Maxwell's Miami-based attorney, who successfully defended a Palm Beach County man against federal child sex abuse allegations in March.
Asked whether Kogan intends to plead guilty and why the hearing was set so soon after his arraignment, neither Markus nor his co-counselors, Anita Moss and Howard Schumacher, responded.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca lawyer set for plea change, sentencing in federal child porn case
