By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Prosecutors have charged an employee at Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital with four counts of molesting four female patients, according to court records made public Friday.
Christopher Conley, 47, was charged on Thursday with taking “indecent liberties” with the four women between April 1 and May 8 while working as a Psychiatric Security Attendant, according to charging documents filed by Pierce County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erica Eggertsen.
Western State Hospital’s security learned about the claims made by two patients on May 8 and conducted an investigation. During that probe, two other patients made similar claims.
The 800-bed facility is already under scrutiny by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over concerns involving patient safety. Officials at the Lakewood hospital have signed a detailed agreement with federal regulators to fix safety problems or lose millions of federal dollars.
The Associated Press was not able to reach Conley, and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney. His arraignment in Pierce County Superior Court was set for Dec. 15.
Conley was placed on an alternate assignment on May 16 and then moved to a home assignment on May 23, said Kathy Spears, spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Services. He resigned on July 14, she said.
“Patient safety and protection has been one of my top priorities since fully taking over the duties of CEO in mid-May,” Cheryl Strange said in a statement. “In this particular case, the staff member who allegedly abused the patients was not immediately moved from direct patient care. The staff member responsible for removing him from patient care was held accountable as allowed by Collective Bargaining Labor Agreement.”
The women said that Conley bragged about knowing the “blind spots” for the cameras on the ward, but other cameras were able to capture his activities. Other patients also witnessed Conley’s interactions with the patients that included touching and sexual comments, Eggertsen said.
Investigators compared the women’s claims with security camera videos and determined that the claims were valid, Eggertsen said. The hospital reported the case to Lakewood Police Department on June 6, according to a police press release.
The patients, who ranged in age from 28 to 47, said they didn’t report Conley’s behavior because they feared retaliation.
“They said the defendant threatened them with getting their time extended so they would have to stay longer at WSH,” Eggertsen said.
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