District of Columbia
Gay D.C. gym owner pleads not guilty to distributing child porn
Judge approves request for more time to negotiate plea offer
Gay D.C. gym owner Michael Everts, who was arrested Nov. 29, 2023, on a charge of distributing child pornography, pleaded not guilty on Thursday, April 4, at his arraignment hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
At the request of Everts’s defense attorney and the lead prosecutor with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan agreed to give Everts more time to consider whether to accept an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to a lower charge that would avoid bringing the case to trial.
Chutkan scheduled a status hearing for 9 a.m. on June 10 at which time the two parties were expected to disclose whether a plea agreement was reached or whether the case would go forward for a trial.
News that a plea bargain offer was in the works surfaced in January when the U.S. Attorney’s office and Everts’s defense attorney filed a joint motion asking another judge presiding over the case at that time to postpone a preliminary hearing and arraignment for Everts on grounds that prosecutors were about to issue a plea offer and the two sides needed more time to discuss the offer.
Everts has been held without bond since the time of his Nov. 29 arrest on a single charge of distribution of child pornography following a joint D.C. police-FBI investigation that led to his arrest. Chutkan ordered that Everts remain in custody until at least the time of the June status hearing.
He was escorted into the courtroom at Thursday’s arraignment wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. In response to questions by the judge, he said he understood he is being charged with a single count of distribution of child pornography and is entitled to a full trial by jury if he chooses a trial rather than accept a plea offer by prosecutors.
Everts has owned and operated the FIT Personal Training gym located at 1633 Q St., N.W., near Dupont Circle since its opening in 2002.
The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Bond, on Dec. 1 filed a 20-page Memorandum in Support of Pretrial Detention for Everts, which the judge approved. The memorandum provides details of the investigation and its findings that prosecutors say showed that Everts distributed images of underage boys engaging in sexual acts to an undercover D.C. police detective posing in an online gay hookup site as someone interested in underage boys for sex.
According to the prosecutors’ memo, Everts allegedly sent the undercover officer video and photo images of child pornography. The memo and a separate police-FBI affidavit in support of Everts’s arrest state that the investigation found, through information from a tipster, that Everts was exchanging messages on a gay sex hookup site expressing interest in exchanging images of underage boys for sexual gratification. That information prompted the joint D.C. police-FBI sting operation that led to Everts’s arrest.
Under the criminal statute Everts is charged with – distribution of child pornography – those convicted of that charge face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Aside from a prison sentence an individual convicted of this charge must register as a sex offender for life.
David Benowitz, Everts’s defense attorney, when approached by the Washington Blade following Thursday’s arraignment, said he would consider a request by the Blade for comment on the case and whether he or Everts dispute any of the allegations against Everts brought by prosecutors.
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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