East Valley dentist accused of failing to report child molestation allegations against assistant

An East Valley dentist faces criminal charges for allegedly failing to notify authorities after one of his assistants was accused of sexually abusing a young girl during an exam, authorities announced Wednesday.

Dr. Walter Villanueva was indicted last month as part of the investigation into dental assistant Deion Garcia, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Garcia is being prosecuted for sexually abusing patients at Villanueva’s pediatric dental practice in Chandler.

A mother called Villanueva in September 2022 and accused Garcia of molesting her 6-year-old daughter during an exam, prosecutors said.

Why was Chandler dentist indicted?

Medical professionals are required to notify authorities about reports of child abuse under the state’s mandatory reporting laws.

Villanueva never reported the mother’s allegations, prosecutors said. A state grand jury indicted him April 9 on one count of failure to report nonaccidental injuries and physical neglect of minors.

In May 2024, Garcia was indicted on charges of child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor for incidents in September 2022 and May 2024.

He pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor in April and is scheduled to be sentenced June 10.

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