Illinois state trooper and wife arrested in child abuse investigation

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include an additional response from the hospital about a doctor now on leave.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — A police officer was suddenly in a position of having to investigate a veteran state trooper – and investigator who’s worked internal affairs. The police officer did not hold back in a detention petition regarding the alleged abuse of children by the trooper, as well as an alleged failure to intervene by his wife – a family medicine practitioner.

It reportedly happened in the Burns Farm neighborhood in Edwardsville where a neighbor hadn’t yet heard the news and was too shaken to comment. The neighbor was caught off guard by allegations a state trooper was abusing his family members.

The allegations include whipping with a belt, choking, excessive corporal punishment with a treadmill and hair cutting involving the trooper’s daughter.

The trooper is also alleged to have repeatedly smacked his elderly mother-in-law in the face.

45-year-old Thomas M Hatley is charged with 8 criminal counts including felony aggravated battery for allegedly abusing his child and mother-in-law — along with misdemeanor endangerment charges for allegedly perpetrating the abuse in front of his younger children.

38-year-old Ha T Hatley is charged with 4 misdemeanor counts of child endangerment for allegedly failing to intervene. Her LinkedIn page says she’s a medical doctor at Anderson Medical Group.

Anderson hospital commented saying that while Hatley’s “…employed through our Anderson Medical Group. She does not see patients at Anderson Hospital. If this is or becomes an active investigation, we will work with authorities.”

The court record says three of the Hatley’s children were interviewed by the Madison County Child Advocacy Center, leading to information gathered by Edwardsville Police on September 24th and then delivered to the Madison County State’s Attorney.

The couple then got a surprise when attending an unrelated court hearing. The Hatleys were arrested by Edwardsville Police Friday around the time of that hearing. The court record indicates they have yet to retain counsel & will have their first appearances & enter their pleas sometime next week.

We also reached out to Trooper Hatley’s employer, Illinois State Police, where he’s served in internal affairs. An ISP spokesperson said, “ISP does not tolerate any criminal conduct within its ranks.”

Following up with a statement we’ve released since learning of the allegations yesterday:

“We are aware of the recent arrest of Thomas Hatley and his wife, Dr. Ha Hatley. As this is a personal legal issue, we cannot comment on the specifics of the case. We want to emphasize that Anderson Healthcare holds all employees, including physicians, to the highest ethical and professional standards.

We are committed to providing quality care to our patients and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. At this time, Dr. Hatley is on leave and we will act in accordance with our policies and procedures as more information becomes available.

For the privacy of all involved, we ask for understanding as we allow the legal process to take its course.”

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