A Southwest Washington pediatrician, a medical assistant and a registered sex offender are at the center of a child exploitation investigation in Clark County that has led to over a dozen criminal charges, allegations of molestation and the death of one suspect.
Chad Hartley, 36, of Vancouver, who police arrested at the end of April, now has 17 charges in the case and remains in Clark County Jail with an $800,000 bail. Hartley has an arraignment hearing that was previously delayed last week to Wednesday, May 13, in Clark County Superior Court.
The Vancouver Police Department began looking into Hartley after they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in February that child sex abuse material had been uploaded to Discord from Hartley’s IP address, according to court records. Hartley was also said to be an administrator of online chatrooms that distributed child pornography, according to court records. Investigators found images of nude minors posing with genitalia being the main focal point of the images, as well as images of Hartley in various states of nudity and sexually explicit activity. Detectives also found AI-generated child sex abuse material.
Hartley was previously a medical assistant at the PeaceHealth Fisher’s Landing clinic in Vancouver. According to court records, law enforcement stopped Hartley after he left his place of work on Wednesday, April 29, leading to his arrest.
“The safety and wellbeing of our patients is our highest priority, and we take these allegations extremely seriously,” a PeaceHealth spokesperson stated. “After being notified of the charges and arrest, Chad Hartley was immediately placed on leave and his employment has been terminated. We also immediately began a thorough review of his interactions with patients and will act quickly on any information identified that affects patient care. Dr. Michael Wilmington is not and has never been employed by PeaceHealth. Questions or information related to the criminal charges should be directed to the Vancouver Police Department. PeaceHealth is fully supporting and cooperating with the law enforcement investigation.”
Court records state Hartley distributed the child sex abuse material of victims between 5 and 10 years of age in Discord chats. Hartley told one user he “doesn’t care if she touches herself.” He also told another user he masturbates in his car with his wife and daughter also in the vehicle, according to court docs.
Through interviews with Hartley and his wife, investigators learned of a second and third suspect in the case.
Dr. Michael Wilmington, 61, of La Center, last serving as a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente in Salmon Creek, was accused of child molestation and was called an “extreme threat to children” by investigators. Wilmington was fired from Kaiser Permanente on Thursday, April 30, according to statements to the press by Kaiser.
The third suspect, William Sneiderwine, was previously only referred to as “Will” in earlier court documents, and was not fully identified in the most recent court documents for Hartley filed Thursday, May 7, by investigators.
Hartley’s wife, identified as Anna Hartley in court records, was interviewed by detectives, and according to the court records, was aware of the nude sexual encounters with a minor with her husband, Wilmington and Sneiderwine.
Investigators learn of Wilmington’s involvement
Hartley met Wilmington at a nudist bowling league previously believed to be held in Portland, he told investigators, but a later court record states the nudist bowling event was actually held in Battle Ground at an unknown location. Court documents also detailed that a minor known to Hartley attended the adult nudist bowling events, according to an interview by investigators with Anna Hartley.
Chad Hartley and Wilmington subsequently became friends with a shared nudist lifestyle and even spent time with an underage victim known to both Hartley and Wilmington quite often, court records state.
Hartley is alleged of having driven the underage victim to Wilmington’s house multiple times for unsupervised nude sleepovers, prompting probable cause for trafficking charges. Sometimes Hartley would stay, as well, court records state.
During nude sleepovers, the men allegedly slept nude in a shared bed with the child — also nude. The underage victim said Wilmington “kept touching my vulva,” according to court documents. The incidents outlined in court records prompted the Vancouver Police Department to issue an arrest warrant on Wilmington for first-degree child molestation.
Hartley also admitted to having a sexual interest in children, court records state. Hartley was arrested for knowingly and recklessly trafficking the underage victim, according to an updated probable cause statement.
According to court records, as a search warrant was served on Wilmington’s home on April 30 after the arrest of Hartley, investigators found numerous disturbing items.
Police said in court records that a “plethora” of images of nude children was discovered in plain view in Wilmington’s home — which would have been easily viewed by any guest to the residence. Investigators also found numerous female sex aids in Wilmington’s bedside table, despite him living alone. Among the sex aids, which include vaginal dilators, were a number of pharmaceutical medicines in a clear ziploc bag. The drugs found include imodium, diphenhydramine, trazodone, cyclobenzaprine, ondansetron and codeine, according to court records.
Detectives utilized open-source research to determine the drugs cause profound sedation, as well as present “extreme physiological distress risks including respiratory depression and cardiac risks.”
On Friday, May 1, the Vancouver Police Department issued the arrest warrant for Wilmington. On Saturday. May 2, Wilmington was found dead in Lewis County after what Lewis County Sheriff’s Office officials called a suicide. As of press time, the death investigation in Lewis County remained underway.
A Seattle law firm says additional victims of Wilmington have already come forward.
“Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA Law) announced today that multiple individuals have contacted the firm alleging sexual abuse by a Clark County pediatrician who was recently found dead while under active investigation by law enforcement,” the law firm stated in a news release last week. “Dr. Michael Wilmington, who practiced in Clark County, was the subject of an ongoing child molestation investigation at the time of his death. According to the Vancouver Police Department, the death has been ruled an apparent suicide. Attorneys at PCVA Law confirm that multiple individuals have come forward with allegations of abuse connected to the physician’s medical practice.”
“This is often the moment when other survivors begin to come forward,” said Mallory Allen, a partner at PCVA Law. “Given that Dr. Wilmington practiced as a pediatrician for many years, and was a trusted member of the community, there may be dozens, if not hundreds, of victims.”
In the news release, the firm emphasized that the death of a suspected perpetrator does not end the pursuit of accountability.
“Even when an individual can no longer be prosecuted, there are important questions about what the institutions who employed him knew, how concerns were handled, and whether these institutions failed to protect victims at their most vulnerable,” Allen added.
Kaiser Permanente has reportedly begun notifying patients about the situation, the law firm stated in the release.
Wilmington also worked at multiple medical facilities in the Portland and Vancouver area across his career that spanned three decades, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
PCVA Law is encouraging anyone who may have had concerning interactions with the physician, or who has information relevant to the investigation, to come forward.
An updated probable cause statement filed on Thursday, May 7, for new charges on Hartley detailed additional child sex abuse material found on his devices.
The digital material, allegedly produced from Hartley’s seized Android cellphone according to the device’s meta data, included incidents of voyeurism of an underage minor with backgrounds consistent with those found in Hartley’s home during a search warrant, records state.
Hartley’s charges include first-degree child molestation, first-degree trafficking, two counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of first-degree voyeurism, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor photograph/live performance, four counts of second-degree dealing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, four counts of second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and a civil proceeding under a separate case number. Prosecutors stated during Hartley’s May 6 court appearance they are anticipating more charges.
A third suspect is arrested
Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit (DECU), have been working diligently to forensically examine digital evidence related to this case, a news release on Friday, May 8 stated.
On May 7, detectives from DECU served a search warrant at a Vancouver residence and arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail, William J. Sneiderwine, 61, for first-degree conspiracy to commit child molestation and tampering with physical evidence. Sneiderwine remains in Clark County Jail with $750,000 bail.
Sneiderwine was previously identified as “Will” in earlier court records.
A LinkedIn profile listed Sneiderwine as an event manager at Club Demonstration Services.
According to Sneiderwine’s Friday, May 8, court appearance, Sneiderwine may have previously been employed as a teacher. Sneiderwine is alleged to have destroyed evidence believed to be connected to Hartley and Wilmington. It was also made aware in the court appearance that Sneiderwine is a registered sex offender.
The investigation is continuing and nothing further is releasable at this time, the Vancouver Police Department stated in the news release. Court records for Sneiderwine’s arrest were not available as of press time.
