Update – 11:59 a.m. – Montgomery County police have charged a Bethesda man with possession of child pornography, but have not yet made an arrest in the case because the man fled the country earlier this month.
Police charged Alexander Soumbadze, 26, of Bethesda with eight counts of possession of child pornography. Police said they executed a search warrant on April 1 at Somubadze’s residence in Bethesda and found eight child pornography videos. Police say that some of the videos depicted Soumbadze touching and engaging in sexual acts with what appeared to be adolescent males and young adults, who appear to have known they were being filmed.
Police believe the videos were recorded prior to October of 2011 inside a karate studio formerly known as DC Martial Arts at 6936 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase. That studio was later renamed On The Mat Sports International when Soumbadze, who attended the studio as a child, became a partner in the business, according to police.
A call placed to On The Mat Sports Friday morning went straight to voicemail. A sign posted on the Wisconsin Ave. business said a parents only meeting will take place Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and that regular classes are canceled.
Police launched the investigation into Soumbadze after authorities in South Dakota informed detectives in December that someone who was uploading child pornography to the internet was possibly residing in Montgomery County.
Police say Soumbadze made admissions of trading and receiving child pornography during an interview with police. However, police say he fled the country on or about April 3 and is believed to have traveled to the country of Georgia.
Police spokeswoman Rebecca Innocenti said police interviewed Soumbadze at the time of the search of his residence on April 1, but at that time there wasn't enough evidence to arrest him. After obtaining the electronic devices from his home, police also had to get a court order to examine them, Innocenti said. Despite expediting that process, investigators were only able to review the footage on April 3, according to Innocenti, and by that time, police believe Soumbadze had fled.
Innocenti said Soumbadze is a citizen of Georgia and that the Eurasian country does have an extradition process, but that right now police are investigating possibly felony charges related to the incidents depicted in the video and are attempting to determine the ages of the teens in the videos.
"[Investigators] need to develop this case before we start the extradition process," Innocenti said.
Police also haven't confirmed Soumbadze traveled to Georgia, but given that he's a citizen there, that's where they believe he went.
Police are now trying to identify and speak to the victims in the videos to determine what other possible criminal acts may have occurred. Anyone with more information about the case is asked to contact police at 240-773-5406.
