Accused Temecula Dentist No Longer Has License

A Temecula dentist accused of having sexual relations with two teenage girls apparently no longer has a state license to practice as a dentist.

A Sept. 19 trial in Riverside County Superior Court is set for David Martinus Reiakvam Jr., 44, who could face more than 50 years in prison if convicted of 13 counts of lewd acts on a child under 15 and two counts of oral copulation of a child under 18.

Reiakvam, who ran Reiakvam Family and Cosmetic Dentistry on Rancho California Road, is free on $200,000 bail.

According to the Dental Board of California, Reiakvam's dental license expired earlier this year and as of July 17 his license is delinquent.

The Dental Board, which operates under the state Department of Consumer Affairs, defines "delinquent" as, "Licensee has failed to timely renew the license or failed to meet all requirements for renewal."

The state Dental Practice Act requires dentists to be licensed. Reiakvam had held a dental license since November 1998, according to the state board's verification records system.

After his arrest in late 2010 the Dental Board sought a court order restricting his dentistry practice while the criminal process was under way. On January 3, 2011, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields issued an order banning Reiakvam from practicing dentistry work on minors "until the close of escrow of his dental practice."

Reiakvam is accused of molesting and engaging in sex acts with two teen-aged girls he taught at two gyms in Riverside. The two alleged victims, who are now in their mid-20s, lived with Reiakvam and his then-wife, Sherry, at their Riverside home during the period of the alleged molestations, according to Deputy District Attorney Debra Postil, the original prosecutor in the case.

Riverside police Detective Laura Ellefson testified at the defendant's preliminary hearing last October that the first girl alleged Reiakvam made initial intimate contact with her during bedside chats, when he would come into her room. That eventually led to regular sexual intercourse when the girl was 15 years old, Ellefson alleged. The other girl was allegedly molested beginning at age 13, beginning when Reiakvam came into her room at night to fondle her, according to testimony. According to Postil, one victim allegedly maintained a sexual relationship with Reiakvam into adulthood.

The defendant lost his job as head of gymnastics at the Empire Acro Gym
because of an unrelated episode with another girl, the prosecutor said. State officials are empowered by state law to revoke his dentist license if he is convicted.