Recent Editor-in-Chief of Left-Leaning News Outlet Arrested on Child Pornography Charges
The former editor-in-chief of a popular, far-left media and news outlet has been charged with allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography, according to reports.
According to prosecutors, the man not only spread files containing graphic images of small children, but he was also allegedly behind producing some of it, The Berkshire Eagle reported.
Slade Sohmer directed news coverage for the website The Recount until late last month.
Sohmer, 44, was arrested at his home in Otis, Massachusetts, last Friday and charged with two counts of possessing child porn and two counts of distributing it, The Wrap reported.
He bonded out of jail on Monday and faces 10 years in state prison for sharing some of the more than 1,300 files that police say they found on his devices if he is convicted.
He also could spend an additional five years in prison on the possession charges.
In a comment to TheWrap about Sohmer’s arrest, Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey called coming across the cache of files “one of the most egregious cases” of her career.
Some of the children depicted in the images and videos are reported to be as young as 3 years old.
Shelvey also told the outlet that Sohmer engaged in disturbing chats with other adults over topics such as “how to kidnap and rape a child,” TheWrap reported.
Sohmer also allegedly discussed wanting to rape a young boy. The prosecutor added that the discussions found add “a level of extreme cruelty” to her case against Sohmer.
Sohmer has pleaded not guilty but has not publicly addressed the charges against him.
It is not clear if an October seizure of his electronic devices by police is related to his separation from The Recount.
According to a LinkedIn page for the company’s former editor-in-chief, Sohmer began working there in February 2019.
He previously worked as a managing editor for another far-left blog, called Mic, and hosted a show on SiriusXM radio.
Perhaps more disturbing — if the allegations against Sohmer are proven — is that he has been the co-director of a children’s summer camp since 2010.
His LinkedIn page states that he co-heads Camp Power, which his professional page says “provides kids from NYC’s most underfunded and underserved neighborhoods with freedom and encouragement that are often lacking in their communities back in the city.”
In 2018, Buzzfeed published a story that included a tweet thread wherein Sohmer described how he explained his homosexuality to small children in his mother’s classroom, The Wrap reported.
Slade Sohmer, editor of left-wing news site “The Recount” was previously celebrated for discussing sexuality with elementary kids.
He was just arrested and charged with possessing and disseminating child p0rn. pic.twitter.com/z4OuFpDQsI
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 14, 2023
One tweet from Sohmer read in part, “And now I’m like … am I … do I … what do I … am I about to come out of the closet to these kids?”
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