A Wrangell doctor arrested last week for possessing and distributing child pornography appeared in court again on Monday.
Dr. Greg Salard arrived in U.S. District Court in Juneau dressed in orange prison garb and wearing handcuffs and leg shackles. As he was being escorted into the courtroom by U.S. Marshals, he hid his face from photographers using the cardboard from an unused Fed Ex box.
Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith presided over the short 10 minute hearing by videoconference from Anchorage. Salard made a request for a court-appointed defender to represent him in the case. He said he can’t afford to pay private defense attorney Michael Nash, who made a limited appearance by telephone.
Salard said he’s been fired from his job, but did not specify whether he was let go from Alaska Island Community Services, Wrangell Medical Center, or both institutions. Those institutions said in a statement his medical privileges have been suspended.
Salard also said he owned no cars or trucks as assets, owed alimony and child support, and also had a ‘substantial debt’ that was owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
Salard was arrested at his home in Wrangell last Wednesday after federal investigators allegedly tracked him using his home computer and a peer-to-peer network to trade in sexually explicit photos and videos of children. Arresting officers say they executed a search warrant just as Salard was attempting to delete all of his files from his computer.
Court records indicate that Salard initially appeared in U.S. District Court in Juneau on Thursday. His next court date is Oct. 28.
