CHANDLER, AZ — The criminal trial is being pushed back to next year for a former East Valley dental assistant who is accused of sex crimes with three young patients.
Trial was scheduled to start in December for 29-year-old Deion Garcia. He is accused of a dozen felony charges involving three children.
In court on Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Monica Edelstein said the December trial date was not realistic based on where the case stands.
Prosecutors have said they are not extending a plea offer to Garcia and instead are awaiting a plea proposal from Garcia’s attorney, Marc Adair. Prosecutors have set a January 14, 2026 deadline for that plea proposal.
Adair said he recently received what he called the “last batch of discovery” in the case from prosecutors, some 4,000 pages.
“It took us some time to get through that,” he said.
He also said he will schedule a psychological evaluation of Garcia sometime this month and expects it will take 30-45 days to receive that written report. After that, he expects to give a plea proposal to prosecutors.
ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.
Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com
“I’m aware of the January cut-off date for that,” he said.
Garcia has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of molestation, sexual conduct, and sexual exploitation.
Court documents allege that as a dental assistant at Kidiatric Dental in Chandler, Garcia would ask parents to stay back while he took children into another room for X-rays where he would allegedly touch them inappropriately and take photos of their private areas.
The Arizona Dental Board conducted its own investigation of the allegations. Kidiatric Dental continues to operate. But the board temporarily restricted the business owner, Dr. Walter Villanueva, from personally treating patients under an agreement he signed with the board. He also agreed to have chaperones in his dental offices for patients who are minors.
An attorney for Dr. Villaneuva has said he is cooperating with the investigation.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
