Everett police arrest optometrist for child molestation

Everett police have arrested an optometrist after a 10-year-old girl reported he took off her clothes and photographed her during an eye exam.

Everett police said the girl told authorities she was alone in the room with the 33-year-old doctor from Bellevue when he asked her to remove her shirt.

Officer Aaron Snell, with Everett Police, said the girl alleges the optometrist was touching her inappropriately and she believed he was taking pictures.

“After that, the optometrist then told her that she needed to take off her pants. The young girl was questioning why and at that point the optometrist allegedly removed her pants for her and once again the girl alleges that he was taking pictures during that time,” Snell said.

The girl’s father was reportedly told to wait in the waiting room while the exam was underway. The girl did not tell her father what had happened, but according to police, told her mother when they returned home.

Police said a search of the phone found pictures consistent with the victim’s version of the incident.

The doctor has been booked into Snohomish County Jail on probable cause for child molestation in the first degree, sexual exploitation of a minor, and possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Detectives believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone that may have been victimized to contact police.

“We would really want anyone that believes they have been victimized or that their child has been victimized to call the Everett Police Department,” Snell said.

KIRO Radio Editor Jillian Raftery contributed to this report.