A 44-year-old Pierce County man accused of raping teenage girls is being held in the Grays Harbor County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
William Collin Snavely, 44, attended his preliminary appearance in Grays Harbor County Superior Court on Sept. 3. Judge Katherine Svoboda set the bail amount and barred him from contacting minors.
Deputies arrested Snavely on Sept. 1 while responding to a report of a missing teenage girl in a rural area near Montesano. The girl was later found walking on a roadway near her home, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.
During the investigation, deputies reportedly learned Snavely had made the trip to Grays Harbor County on at least two other occasions to allegedly engage in "illegal sexual acts" with young teens.
The Sheriff's Office believes Snavely connected with one teen through a dating app, according to court records. From there, he managed to connect with the teen who went missing on Sept. 1.
Snavely allegedly exchanged sexually explicit images with both teens and arranged to meet them in-person through messaging apps, court records show.
Prosecutors have charged Snavely with seven crimes, including first-degree kidnapping, three counts of third-degree rape of a child, second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of felonious communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into Snavely's behavior from the perspective of law enforcement.
Deputies responded to a report of a missing teenage girl from a Grays Harbor County home at about 2 a.m. Sept. 1. The girl's mother told deputies that her daughter had gone outside at about 1 a.m. to close a chicken coop door and did not return.
The teen left her phone at the home, so the parent looked through her messages. She reportedly found messages from a California number that indicated someone had arranged to pick her up, according to the statement.
Deputies quickly discovered the phone number belonged to Snavely and began searching for him and his registered vehicle, a Black 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe with a Washington license plate. They reportedly found him driving that vehicle and initiated a traffic stop.
Snavely allegedly told police he was lost and looking for a way home, according to the statement. Deputies reported that he told them he was in the area to sell art to the missing teen.
The teen was not in Snavely's vehicle, so deputies continued the search. They eventually found the teen walking alone on a roadway and took her home.
A detective later interviewed the teen. She told the detective she had been exchanging nude photos with Snavely, according to the statement.
The teen said she met Snavely through a friend and Snavely wanted to "date" both her and her friend. The teen added Snavely knew their exchanges were "illegal and wrong," according to the statement.
She said Snavely persuaded her to keep their interactions a secret by claiming he may lose custody of his children or "die in jail," the statement says. The teen eventually alleged that Snavely engaged in illegal sexual acts with her in the back seat of the car.
The detective later interviewed Snavely at the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Office. Snavely allegedly admitted to exchanging nude photos with the teen and engaging in sexual acts with the teen despite knowing the teen was a minor, according to the statement.
Snavely allegedly told deputies he first met the teen's friend through a dating app called "Boo," per the statement.
The friend reportedly identified herself as 18 in the app, but the statement says Snavely soon learned she was an underage teen. He also admitted to exchanging nude photos with that teen, according to the statement.
Detectives then interviewed the teen who Snavely initially met through the app. That teen said she created a dating app profile because it "felt good to have someone respond to her," per the statement.
The teen reportedly said she exchanged nude photos with Snavely via SnapChat, a messaging app with a feature that can make messages inaccessible after a short period of time. She then revealed details about a meeting she had with Snavely in August.
The teen told detectives that she and the teen who went missing on Sept. 1 got into a car with Snavely and drove to another location. She alleged Snavely committed sexual acts with both of them in his car, according to the statement.
A detective searched through this teen's phone and found messages she exchanged with Snavely. The statement indicates these messages included sexually graphic photos of both teens.
Detectives later recovered several items from Snavely's vehicle after acquiring a search warrant. They allegedly found a meth pipe, sex toys and sexually explicit photos of one of the teens, the statement says.
Additionally, detectives say they found two video cameras, a cell phone and 14 electronic storage devices that they suspect contain child pornography.
Detectives looked through the cell phone and found explicit videos that Snavely allegedly saved and exchanged with the teens, according to the statement.
Lastly, detectives alleged Snavely had a firearm in a backpack that was found near the front seat of the vehicle.
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