Vancouver child molestation case expands with arrest of suspect's wife
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The wife of a Vancouver medical assistant who was arrested in connection with a wide-reaching child molestation case has also been arrested.
Anna Hartley, Chad Hartley's wife, was booked into the Clark County jail Monday on charges of first-degree trafficking and first-degree child molestation. She's due to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
As of now, details about the arrest are unclear.
The investigation began in February, when Vancouver police received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child sex abuse material, or CSAM, tied to an IP address in Vancouver.
Detectives identified Chad Hartley as a suspect in the case on April 29. He was a medical assistant at the PeaceHealth Fisher's Landing clinic in Vancouver.
Hartley was later connected with Dr. Michael R. Wilmington, a pediatrician VPD said was "affiliated with multiple medical facilities" in the greater Portland-Vancouver area and was employed at Kaiser Permanente's Salmon Creek Medical Office. Wilmington allegedly hosted naked sleepovers with young kids at his home in La Center.
On May 2, Vancouver police learned that Wilmington had been found dead in Lewis County in an apparent suicide. The Lewis County Sheriff's Office is in charge of the death investigation.
Roughly a week later, Vancouver police announced that officers had arrested a third suspect, 61-year-old William J. Sneiderwine, on charges of conspiracy to commit child molestation and tampering with physical evidence.
According to prosecutors, Sneiderwine encouraged Hartley to bring a young victim to Wilmington when he introduced the two at a nudist bowling event. Police also found an online chat where Sneiderwine allegedly encouraged someone else to sexually offend against their child.
Sneiderwine has a previous sexual misconduct conviction from 1998 involving a 14-year-old in Indiana, according to prosecutors.
This is a developing story. Stay with KGW as we continue to update this article with new information.
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