A Chandler dental assistant was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday for sexually abusing many children under the age of ten while working, officials said.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Deion Garcia, 29, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a juvenile, one act of sexual behavior with a minor, and one count of attempted child molestation.
His time in prison will be followed by a lifetime of supervised probation.
“This defendant was trusted with the care of vulnerable children during routine dental procedures, and he exploited that trust for his own sexual gratification,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a release.
What Chandler police found
In May 2024, the Chandler Police Department received a claim from the parents of a 6-year-old girl that Garcia had taken indecent photos and touched her inappropriately during an X-ray exam at a dental clinic near Arizona Avenue and Chandler Heights Road.
Investigators subsequently linked the case to an event in September 2022 in which another 6-year-old was sexually molested during an X-ray test.
During the investigation of Garcia’s phone, authorities discovered several indecent images of a 4-year-old who was under anesthesia at the time of the abuse.
In April, Dr. Walter Villanueva was charged with failing to alert authorities after Garcia was accused of sexually abusing a young girl during an exam.
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