Former Wrangell physician Greg Salard appeared in U.S. District Court in Juneau on Oct. 28 to be arraigned for the alleged possession and distribution of child pornography. Salard was later indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child, for distributing and possessing child pornography.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. District Attorney’s office, if convicted of distribution Salard faces a maximum statutory penalty of not less than five and up to 20 years imprisonment. If convicted of possession, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.
In addition, both counts carry fines of up to $250,000 as well as the possibility of a lifetime period of supervised release following any sentence of imprisonment. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Federal defense attorney Cara McNamara entered a not guilty plea on her client’s behalf. A jury trial has been set for Jan. 5, 2015.
Salard had been arrested at his home on Oct. 15 by federal, state and local agencies, following a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Anchorage office.
The affidavit for his arrest alleges an Internet Protocol (IP) address linked Salard to a peer-to-peer file sharing network exchanging illicit material. Between February 1 and October 5 it said he had made available at least 104 files containing videos and images suspected of being child pornography. FBI Special Agent Anthony Peterson monitored the network engaged in exchanging the illicit material.
A laptop in the home at the time of the search was in the process of having its files erased. Despite this, the report alleged two illicit files were initially found on the computer and that a more detailed examination located 25 further files which had been deleted.
Salard was brought to Lemon Creek Correctional Facility in Juneau after his arrest, where he remains in custody.
Upon learning of his arrest, Alaska Island Community Services and Wrangell Medical Center both suspended Salard’s hospital privileges. Up to that point, Salard had been a physician specializing in family practice employed by Alaska Island Community Services, and was chief of staff at the hospital since July 2013. He is now no longer employed by either organization.
Citing this, outstanding debts to the Internal Revenue Service and other financial obligations, Salard requested that a court-appointed defender represent him at his Oct. 20 appearance.
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