A jury trial is set for Jan. 5 for a Wrangell doctor accused of distributing and viewing child pornography.
Dr. Greg Salard appeared in court for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Juneau on Tuesday. His federal defense attorney, Cara McNamara, entered his not guilty plea for him.
Dressed in orange prison garb, slip-on sneakers and leg shackles, Salard said nothing, except “Yes, ma’am” in response to the magistrate judge’s routine questions. His handcuffs were taken off during the short hearing inside the courtroom.
Salard remains at Lemon Creek Correctional Center pending a detention hearing that has yet to be scheduled.
Last Wednesday, Salard was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. One charge is for alleged distribution of child pornography and the other charge is for the alleged possession of child pornography.
If convicted, Salard could face a maximum of 30 years in prison, a half-million dollars in fines and a lifetime of supervised release.
Salard was arrested at his home in Wrangell on Oct. 15 as he allegedly tried to delete pornographic images from his home computer. Starting in May, federal investigators allegedly tracked Salard as he used his computer and a peer-to-peer network to trade sexually explicit photos and videos of children.
KSTK in Wrangell reports that Salard is one of four medical providers in town. He is employed as a family doctor by Alaska Island Community Services and serves under a contract with Wrangell Medical Center, the community’s hospital. Both organizations have suspended Salard’s medical privileges after the arrest. But he has not yet been fired. Salard said during a recent court appearance that he had been fired from his job.
The State Medical Board reports that Salard “voluntarily surrendered” his license to practice medicine on Friday.
