Rutgers dean arrested on invasion of privacy charge over alleged upskirt recordings
Josh Kohut, dean of research at Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was arrested this week on a charge of invasion of privacy after investigators alleged he used his personal phone to record “upskirt” videos of another person without that person’s knowledge, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. Kohut, 51, was taken into custody Tuesday. Rutgers confirmed the arrest and said Kohut had been placed on leave and barred from all university property in New Brunswick, N.J., pending the outcome of an investigation.
Kohut is now among several university administrators in recent years who have faced criminal charges tied to alleged secret recordings, a type of case that has become easier for investigators to bring as smartphone cameras make covert filming simpler to hide.
What the charge alleges: phone used to record without victim’s knowledge
The Attorney General’s office says Kohut used his phone to capture upskirt videos of a victim who was unaware she was being recorded, according to the office’s public statement on the arrest. Invasion of privacy, the specific charge filed, covers exactly this kind of nonconsensual recording under New Jersey law. Investigators have not publicly detailed how the alleged recordings were discovered or how many separate incidents are involved, and no additional charges have been reported beyond the single invasion of privacy count.
The available reporting does not say where the alleged recordings took place, whether on campus or elsewhere, or how authorities first learned of the alleged conduct. Those gaps leave much of the timeline unclear as the case moves forward.
Who is Josh Kohut: role as dean of research at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Kohut held the title of dean of research at Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) at the time of his arrest, a senior administrative role overseeing research initiatives within the school. SEBS is one of Rutgers’ academic units based at the university’s New Brunswick campus, the same campus Kohut has now been banned from. Public reporting has not detailed the length of his tenure at Rutgers or his research background, and the university has not released a biography or statement addressing his professional history in connection with the charge.
Rutgers’ response: leave, campus ban, and pending investigation
Rutgers placed Kohut on leave and prohibited him from setting foot on any university property in New Brunswick, according to the university’s statement reported by The New York Times. The campus ban applies while an internal investigation proceeds, though the university has not given a timeline for that review or said who is conducting it.
University statement and what it did not address
Rutgers’ public statement confirmed the basic facts of Kohut’s employment status and the restrictions now placed on him, but it did not comment on the specifics of the criminal allegations. The university did not say whether it had received any prior complaints about Kohut, and it did not address whether the alleged conduct occurred on university property or involved anyone connected to Rutgers. It also did not indicate whether Kohut keeps his title during the leave or whether termination proceedings might follow, depending on the outcome of the criminal case or the internal investigation.
The legal process ahead
Invasion of privacy charge under New Jersey law
New Jersey’s invasion of privacy statute criminalizes photographing, filming, videotaping, or otherwise recording another person’s intimate parts without consent, in circumstances where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, even in a public setting. Upskirt recordings fall under this statute because they target parts of the body a victim reasonably expects will not be exposed or filmed, regardless of whether she is in a public space at the time. The charge can be prosecuted as a crime of the third or fourth degree in New Jersey, depending on factors such as whether the images were distributed, though the reporting on Kohut’s case does not specify which degree applies here.
Possible next steps in the case
Kohut is expected to appear in court to face the formal charge, though no hearing date has been made public. The Attorney General’s office, which is prosecuting the case, has not said whether additional evidence or charges could emerge as the investigation continues. Kohut’s legal representation, if he has retained an attorney, has not been named in public reporting, and no statement from Kohut or on his behalf has been reported.
What remains unknown
Victim identity and circumstances of the alleged recordings
Authorities have not disclosed the identity of the alleged victim, consistent with standard practice in cases involving invasion of privacy and nonconsensual recording. The relationship, if any, between Kohut and the alleged victim has not been reported, nor has the location or number of alleged recording incidents. Whether the victim is affiliated with Rutgers as a student, employee, or member of the public is not addressed in the reporting reviewed.
Timeline between arrest and university action
Public reporting confirms Kohut was arrested Tuesday and that Rutgers subsequently announced his leave and campus ban, but the precise sequence and timing between the arrest, the university’s awareness of the allegations, and its formal response has not been detailed. It is not clear whether Rutgers was notified by law enforcement before the arrest or learned of the charge only after it became public. The university also has not said whether it plans to update its statement as the case develops or whether additional personnel actions are under consideration.
Broader context: campus responses to faculty misconduct allegations
Universities have come under pressure to respond quickly when administrators or faculty are charged with criminal conduct, particularly in cases involving alleged privacy violations or misconduct toward students and staff. Rutgers’ decision to place Kohut on leave and bar him from campus follows a pattern many schools now use: separate the accused from the university environment while legal proceedings unfold, without prejudging guilt or commenting extensively on unproven allegations.
That approach limits legal exposure for the institution, but it often leaves the campus community, and the public, with little information about the scope of the allegations or the university’s internal review. For Rutgers, further disclosures are likely to come either through court filings in the criminal case or through an update once the internal investigation concludes. For now, the record consists of a single charge, a leave of absence, and a campus ban, with the more substantive questions about the alleged conduct still unanswered.
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