A former Wrangell family doctor will spend the next 20 years in prison and the remainder of his life on supervised release for receiving and distributing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Karen. L. Loeffler announced in a statement Tuesday that Greg Alan Salard, 54, will also pay a $25,000 fine for his crimes.
A Southeast Alaskan jury convicted Salard in July 2015 after an FBI investigation revealed an Internet Protocol (IP) address linked to the doctor was exchanging child pornography.
The jury at trial reviewed the contents of 11 of the files recovered during the forensic examination, although there was evidence of hundreds of other files of child pornography. The computer also tied Salard to multiple searches for child pornography.
Prosecutors introduced evidence during the trial that Salard used a program designed to erase or “wipe” those computer files the same morning a search warrant was issued for the laptop.
During sentencing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess made note of the “thoughtful, deliberate, and sophisticated way in which he obtained the material,” calling it extremely serious conduct, according to a press release from Loeffler’s office.
“(Salard) was sophisticated enough to put (his child pornography) into files no one searching for it would know were child pornography. … He was sophisticated enough to alter the default features of (the file-sharing program). That was not an unintentional step … and only adds to the seriousness,” Burgess said, the statement reads.
The judge also said during the sentencing that it did not appear Salard realized the gravity of his crime, nor did he seem to acknowledge his guilt. Burgess said “nothing” assured him Salard would not repeat his actions.
Although the judge received several letters in support of the defendant, he said he did not count them as true portrayals of Salard.
“I think Dr. Salard is a sophisticated and manipulative person who was able to compartmentalize his life and deceive others,” the release quotes Burgess as saying. “There is a dark and sinister side to his personality that let him get involved in this type of behavior and hide it from others.”
The case against Salard was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse.
