Former San Antonio Dentist Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced yesterday in a federal court in San Antonio to 360 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, a $45,000 restitution to victims and ordered to pay a total of $55,100 in special assessments for his role in the production of child pornography.

According to court documents, Abiel Alejandro Saldivar, 33, who worked as a dentist in San Antonio, messaged numerous minors on various social media applications telling them he had nude images of them, and that he would post them if they did not engage in and record sexual activity for him. Saldivar was arrested on Jan. 21, 2022, and has remained in custody since. He pleaded guilty to the charge May 3, 2023.

“The defendant, a local pediatric dentist, was aggressively and ruthlessly sexually exploiting children via social media,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.  “This case demonstrates the benefits of collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement to serve victims and hold perpetrators, especially those who prey on the most vulnerable of our society, accountable.” 

“The significant sentence imposed on Abiel Saldivar sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for those individuals who exploit children.  Saldivar will serve the next 30 years in federal prison for his reprehensible acts” said HSI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge, Craig Larrabee. “We remain committed to working with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who victimize our children.”

HSI; Whatcom County, WA Sheriff’s Office; and the Texas Attorney General’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

###