Forty years in prison, then probation for the rest of his life. That is the sentence handed to Deion Garcia, a 29-year-old former dental assistant from Chandler, Arizona, who admitted abusing children at the pediatric office where he worked. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced the outcome in a news release on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Garcia first came under investigation in May 2024. A parent told Chandler police that Garcia had touched her 6-year-old daughter and photographed her during an X-ray exam, according to the prosecutors’ account as reported by People. Detectives tied that complaint to an earlier one from September 2022, when a different 6-year-old was allegedly abused during an X-ray. Searching Garcia’s phone, investigators also turned up several improper photos of a 4-year-old patient who was under anesthesia when they were taken.
WKRC in Cincinnati reported that Garcia was arrested in 2024 facing 12 counts. He later pleaded guilty to four of them: one count of attempted molestation of a child, one of sexual conduct with a minor, and two of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. Arizona classes all four as dangerous crimes against children. People noted that the office named in the case has been identified by several outlets as Kidiatric Dental & Orthodontics, and that it was unclear exactly when Garcia’s employment there ended.
A second case over a missed report
The fallout reached beyond Garcia. In May, prosecutors indicted another employee of the practice, Dr. Walter Villanueva, on a felony charge, accusing him of keeping quiet about the 2022 episode. The attorney’s office said the first victim’s mother had met with Villanueva about it, and that he never called police, which Arizona’s mandatory reporting law requires. WKRC added that civil lawsuits have been filed. Kidiatric Dental did not immediately answer People’s request for comment.
What prosecutors said
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell put it bluntly. Garcia “was trusted with the care of vulnerable children during routine dental procedures, and he exploited that trust for his own sexual gratification,” she said. She thanked the Chandler Police Department and sex crimes prosecutor Anshika Mehrotra for securing justice for the victims, and said the 40-year term reflects the seriousness of the crimes.
Anyone who suspects child abuse can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453, which is toll-free, confidential and open around the clock.
Sources
- Dental Assistant Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Child Patients, Taking ‘Inappropriate’ Photos of 4-Year-Old Under Anesthesia
- Former dental assistant sentenced for sex crimes involving pediatric patients
