A former editor of a left-wing political news site is facing charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography, according to Massachusetts authorities.
Slade Sohmer, 44, who served as the editor-in-chief of the video-based news site ‘The Recount‘ until the previous month, was granted release on $100,000 bail on Monday. The charges against him in a Massachusetts court involve the possession and dissemination of “hundreds of child pornography images and videos,” as reported by The Berkshire Eagle.
Sohmer, who has also worked as a camp counselor for a nonprofit based in New York City, was apprehended at his residence in Otis, Mass. on Friday. The arrest followed weeks after law enforcement officials seized his electronic devices under a search warrant, according to the newspaper.
He has entered a plea of not guilty to two counts each of possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography.
If convicted, Sohmer could face minimum mandatory sentences of 10 years in state prison for the dissemination of child pornography charge and five years for the possession of child pornography charge. Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey described this case as one of the most “egregious” of its kind she has encountered.
A spokesperson from The Recount’s parent company, The News Movement, confirmed that Sohmer “is no longer editor-in-chief” of the site.
