Slade Sohmer, the now-former editor-in-chief of the left-leaning publication The Recount, was arrested on Friday on charges of possessing more than 1,300 images of child pornography including images of toddlers, according to court documents.
Sohmer was released on $100,000 bail on Monday, after being charged with two counts of possession and two counts dissemination of child pornography.
Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey told TheWrap on Tuesday that Sohmer’s collection of images and videos, some involving children as young as 3 or 4 years old, was “one of the most egregious cases” she had ever seen.
“Unfortunately, the nature of these charges do not allow them to ask that he be held without bail,” Shelvey said. Sohmer was ordered not to contact minors under 18 and was forbidden from accessing the internet, although he is allowed the use of a cell phone.
A cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in June led to the Oct. 18 search of Sohmer’s home in Otis, Massachusetts, where officials found the images and videos of child pornography, the D.A. told TheWrap.
Local paper The Berkshire Eagle first reported that prosecutors claim Sohmer not only possessed and disseminated, but produced the content.
In a statement to TheWrap, The Recount said that Sohmer was no longer editor-in-chief of the political site specializing in video and social media journalism. His departure came “following a company restructure exercise in early October to focus on our editorial and commercial plans,” the statement said. A company spokesperson had no further comment.
Sohmer has a longstanding journalism career at a number of New York City-based digital outlets. In addition to The Recount, where he served as editor-in-chief for four years, he was the managing editor for news and video at Mic, a political news radio host at SiriusXM, and was cofounder of the internet news site Hyper Vocal.
The charges against Sohmer additionally cast Sohmer’s time as a summer camp counselor and director in a different light. The journalist also went mildly viral for his dealings with young children in 2018 after posting a Twitter thread about visiting his mother’s fourth grade class.
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