The former editor of left-wing news site The Recount has been charged with possessing and distributing child porn, law enforcement officials in Massachusetts confirmed.
Slade Sohmer, 44, was released on $100,000 bail after being charged with possessing and distributing “hundreds of child pornography images and videos.”
The Wrap reported that Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey said 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.
Authorities also obtained text chats from Sohmer, which shared apparent instructions on how to kidnap and rape a child.
The disturbing chats added “a level of extreme cruelty” to the case, Shelvey said.
Sohmer was dismissed as editor of The Recount in October, which was around the time the investigation into allegations of child porn began.
Sohmer worked as editor-in-chief of the left-wing news site until his arrest on child porn charges.
The News Movement, which owns the Recount, told the New York Post that Sohmer is no longer the editor-in-chief following a “company restructure exercise in early October to focus on our editorial and commercial plans.”
Sohmer has pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of dissemination of child pornography.
If he is convicted, he faces ten years in prison for dissemination and five years if convicted of possession of child pornography.
Sohmer’s alleged proclivities were reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children following a tip-off after the discovery of a suspicious Snapchat video sent in September of last year.
The video in question reportedly contained sexually explicit images of an 11-year-old boy, the Berkshire Eagle reported.
The outlet reported that the video was later traced to an address under Sohmer’s name.
Sohmer sent at least 53 videos containing child pornography, investigators said.
Some of the videos contained children as young as three years old being raped or encouraged to perform sex acts by adults.
The charges now cast doubt on Sohmer’s time as a summer camp counselor.
The journalist became known for his dealings with young children after posting a Twitter thread about visiting his mother’s fourth-grade class.
As The Wrap noted, A 2014 Instagram post from Summer 365 — who advise and advocate for sleepaway camps and summer programs — featured a picture of Sohmer with several young campers in the background.
The caption identifies him as “camp legend Slade Sohmer.” Sohmer’s LinkedIn lists him as a codirector a Camp Power since 2010.
READ: Child Psychiatrist Jailed for Using AI to Alter Kids Photos into Child Porn
