Ex-Pasco substitute arrested for child porn. He’s been suspected for years

A 49-year-old who substitute taught in Pasco classrooms last year was arrested on charges of inappropriate conversations with young girls and having child porn.

But it isn’t the first time Kyle B. Anglesey has been investigated.

Court records show three other law enforcement agencies have suspected Anglesey of similar allegations since 2013, but he was never charged or arrested.

Then, last year, he was hired as a substitute in the Pasco School District. Anna Tensmeyer, Pasco’s communications director, confirmed he only worked for the district in 2024 but didn’t say what schools he taught at.

Court documents said he worked at middle schools and Chiawana High School before police received a tip in May 2024.

A teen alerted Kennewick police when he discovered inappropriate messages between Anglesey and an 11-year-old girl when Anglesey let him borrow his phone.

Benton County prosecutors have charged Anglesey with possession of child porn and four counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. He is being held in the Benton County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

“Given the nature of the alleged conduct, the number of potential victims and the defendant’s access to minors, the state believes he presents a significant risk of committing a sexual offense if not taken into custody,” Deputy Prosecutor Taylor Anderson wrote in the affidavit of probable cause.

This is the second school employee to be arrested in recent months accused of sex offenses. Richland school employee Angel Rodriguez is charged in Pasco with two counts of first-degree child rape.

Police had been looking into Anglesey’s interactions with children for more than 10 years, court documents said.

Kennewick police were first alerted in 2013 when Anglesey’s ex-wife provided detectives with screenshots allegedly showing his messages with young girls, said court documents. The messages reportedly included sharing pornographic images.

But investigators weren’t able to act on the information because the people involved were living in Illinois at the time, court documents said.

Then in 2018, a vigilante group called “Hunted and Confronted” set up a sting where their members posed as 15-year-old and 13-year-old girls, court documents. While Anglesey was confronted by the group, their involvement meant prosecutors didn’t want to file charges.

He was nearly caught again in 2023 after he began chatting with an undercover officer who was part of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Anglesey allegedly shared pornographic images and inappropriate conversations, but the Idaho detective didn’t take any further steps because the Anglesey lived in Washington.

Last year, Anglesey was arrested in Kennewick after a teen said he was using Anglesey’s phone when a message notification appeared from the “Whisper” application, a chat program.

The teen said he tried to close the application, but opened it instead and discovered the conversation, court documents said.

Kennewick police investigation

Police contacted Anglesey when he was working as a substitute at Chiawana High. Detectives seized his phone and after getting search warrants, they said they found nearly 3,700 text conversations across 14 different messaging applications, according to court documents.

They allegedly found the messages in Discord, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Tinder, WhatsApp and Whisper, court documents said. They dated back to 2015 and many were sexual in nature.

Court documents don’t say show many were with minors, but there were several conversations about his interest in young girls.

Police were also able to get access to his “Kik” account, another text messaging application. They learned that he regularly entered chat rooms for middle or high school girls, court documents said.

No matter the programs, his conversations with the teen and pre-teen girls are largely the same, court documents said. He soon started asking about their experience with sex and puberty, as well as sharing his experiences.

Current charges are based on four of those conversations, including the one with the Idaho detective, the others are with girls who were 12 to 15 years old. Police have not been able to find the girls, court documents said.

Investigators said they also discovered several pieces of child pornography on the phone.