Family files lawsuit against dental assistant accused of harassing young patients

CHANDLER – An East Valley dental assistant facing criminal harassment allegations is now also the subject of a civil lawsuit.

Deion Alexander Garcia, 27, was charged earlier this year with 12 felony counts involving three young girls. The alleged crimes occurred between September 2022 and May 2024 at a dental office in Chandler. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

This week, the family of one of the alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit against Garcia and his former employer, accusing him of negligent training, hiring and supervision.

“The impact has been terrible on the family,” said John Kelly, an attorney representing the family.

The lawsuit alleges the family reported the incident two years ago to Kidiatric Dental & Orthodontics near Arizona Avenue and Chandler Heights Road and to the Chandler Police Department.

Chandler police dropped the investigation after determining there wasn’t enough evidence, according to court records.

The lawsuit alleges Garcia remained employed at Kidiatric, where he was “allowed and repeatedly permitted to continue his predatory behavior.”

Garcia was arrested earlier this year after Chandler police said a young girl told her parents that he touched her inappropriately and took photos of her during an exam on May 8.

During the police investigation, Garcia was linked to two other children with similar allegations: the 2022 investigation and an incident that allegedly occurred on May 9, 2024, the day after the May 8 allegation.

Court documents say there are three alleged victims; two were six years old and another was four years old.

Garcia is scheduled to go to trial on the criminal charges in January. But during a court hearing on Wednesday, the judge pointed out that the current trial dates were not realistic. A trial date for the civil lawsuit has not yet been set as the lawsuit was only recently filed.

In response to the civil lawsuit, Kidiatric Dental & Orthodontics released a statement to ABC15 saying:

“The complaint was not served on the practice and I only received a copy of the complaint from ABC News this afternoon. I did not have time to review the allegations against the practice or discuss the complaint with my attorney. The practice and I cooperated fully with the law enforcement investigation. The individual in question was a former pediatric dental assistant who was not employed by Kidiatric Orthodontics PLLC. My lawyer has advised me not to make any further comment at this time.”

Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at [email protected]call them at 602-685-6345 or connect via X, formerly known asTwitterAndFacebook.