A Wrangell doctor arrested last week for possessing and distributing child pornography appeared in court again Monday.
Doctor 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 ten minute hearing by video conference from Anchorage.
Salard made a request for a court-appointed defender to represent him in the case.
Private defense attorney Michael Nash made a limited appearance by telephone, but – Salard said- “I can’t afford to pay him anymore.” Salard said he had been fired from his job. But he did not specify whether he was let go from Alaska Island Community Services, Wrangell Medical Center, or both institutions. He 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 week 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.
Matt Miller is a reporter at KTOO in Juneau.
