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Slade Sohmer, of Otis, was arrested on Monday, Nov. 13, following a lengthy investigation and charged with two counts of having child porn and two counts of dissemination of child pornography, the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office said. More charges are expected, however.
Sohmer was the former editor-in-chief of the news site The Recount until about a month ago, according to multiple news outlets.
A tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led police in Berkshire County to begin investigating Sohmer over the summer.
Police searched Sohmer's home and devices last month, and they found more than 1,000 pornographic images and photos, hundreds of which were child sexual abuse material with children as young as 3 or 4 years old, the prosecutor said.
Investigators found an "extremely large number of pornographic materials" on his devices, and technicians are still going through it weeks later, the prosecutor said.
Sohmer produced at least one of the videos, authorities said.
Police also uncovered messages between Sohmer and another person in 2021 on Telegram that included discussions on how to lure, kidnap, and rape children, the prosecutor said. The two exchanged child sexual abuse material as well during the chat, police added.
A judge set Sohmer's bail at $100,000, and he is not allowed to have access to the internet or contact with anyone under the age of 18 as a condition of his bail, authorities said.
Sohmer faces decades in prison if convicted on all counts.
A spokesman for The Recount's parent company told the New York Post that Sohmer was released from his position last month “following a company restructure exercise in early October to focus on our editorial and commercial plans.”
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