Who is Slade Sohmer? Name origin explored in wake of severe child p*rnography charges against The Recount editor 

Slade Sohmer, the former editor of a left-leaning political news site, The Recount, was reportedly arrested on Friday, November 10, at his home in Otis, Massachusetts, on charges related to possession and dissemination of child p*rnography.

Trigger warning: This article contains details pertaining to s*xual assault. Reader discretion is advised

Sohmer, who was the Editor-in-Chief of The Recount for four years before he was dismissed last month, is accused of possessing more than 1,300 foto's of child p*rnography, including images of toddlers. Furthermore, Sohmer allegedly disseminated images and produced content in which the suspect was filmed telling a minor to perform s*x acts.

Sohmer, 44, was let go from his job in October after the company cited “ “restructure exercise” to focus on their “editorial and commercial plans.” However, Sohmer was dismissed around the time officials found the images and videos of child p*rnography at the journalist's home during a search on October 18.

Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey told The Wrap that Sohmer’s collection found in his home last month involved children as young as 3 or 4 years old being assaulted by adults. Furthermore, authorities also disinterred text chats from the suspect talking about how to kidnap and assault a child.

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Slade Sohmer was featured in a Buzzfeed article in 2018

Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey said that authorities began investigating Slade Sohmer after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was tipped off in June that somebody sent a suspicious video on Snapchat in late September of last year. Court documents cited by The Berkshire Eagle revealed the Snapchat video showed an 11-year-old being exploited by adults.

Shortly after, authorities traced the video to an IP address to Sohmer’s home internet account. Police then seized electronic devices from Sohmer’s home in Otis in October.

Sohmer is a German surname, most frequently found in the United States. The 44-year-old journalist, who has worked in multiple New York City-based digital outlets, including serving as a political Radio Host for Sirius XM Radio Inc., first made headlines in 2018 after Buzzfeed ran the story about visiting his mother’s fourth-grade classroom in 2018.

At the time, he told the publication that he was anxious about telling the kids who peppered him with questions about the personal life he lived with a boyfriend.

“It’s not like I misjudged these kids or had any preconceived notions,” he told BuzzFeed. “I just don’t know what today’s fourth graders know about love and s*xuality and gender and all its modern permutations.”

Per his LinkedIn page, Slade Sohmer, who graduated from Northwestern University in 2001, is listed as a co-director at Camp Power, a non-profit summer camp for kids based in New York City. He has worked as a camp counsellor since 2010.

In light of the allegations, Slade Sohmer’s time as a camp counselor has raised suspicions, considering he has been accused of exploiting kids. A summer camp consulting firm Summer 365, who advocates for sleepaway and summer camps, posted a picture of Sohmer on their Instagram with several young kids in the background.

Slade Sohmer, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of child p*rnography and two counts of dissemination of child p*rnography, was released on $100,000 bail on Monday.