Wrangell doctor found guilty of distributing child pornography
July 29, 2015
Dr. Greg Alan Salard, 54, of Wrangell, Alaska, was found guilty after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess of the District of Alaska. The six-day trial began in late June. Jury delibrations began after closing arguments on Tuesday, July 28th, at 11:45 a.m and the jury returned shortly with a verdict at 1:15 p.m. Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 9, 2015, in Juneau, Alaska. Distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to 20 years in prison. Possession can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. According to evidence presented during the six-day trial, during an FBI investigation concerning the trading of child pornography using peer-to-peer (P2P) software, investigators discovered that an Internet Protocol (IP) address linked to Salard was used to share files of known child pornography and that one of those files contained a video of child pornography. The evidence also showed that a laptop computer subsequently seized from Salard’s home contained the same P2P software used to share the video. Trial testimony regarding a forensic examination of the laptop demonstrated that the computer contained a child pornography video as well as evidence of hundreds of other files with names indicative of child pornography; the jury reviewed the contents of 11 of those files. The testimony also showed that multiple searches had been run on the laptop for a term associated with child pornography, and that videos of child pornography had been viewed on the computer. Finally, the evidence introduced at trial revealed that a program designed to erase or “wipe” computer files had been used multiple times, including on the morning the search warrant was executed in October 2014. Alaska Island Community Services and the Wrangell Medical Center confirmed with Wrangell law enforcement on October 16. 2014, that Dr. Salard was taken into custody by the FBI. On October 17th, it was further confirmed that Dr. Salard was arraigned on charges related to child pornography. Dr. Salard’s medical privileges at both Alaska Island Community Services and the Wrangell Medical Center was suspended pending further investigation. Dr. Salard first appeared in the federal courtroom at the Juneau Federal Building in October 2014, escorted by U.S. Marshals, facing two felonies: one for allegedly possessing the illegal material and the other for distributing it. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for possessing and distributing child pornography on his personal computer on October 23, 2014. This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service, Petersburg, Alaska Police Department, Wrangell, Alaska Police Department and Juneau, Alaska, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon of the District of Alaska. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
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Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews
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