Facts
- Criminal: Ongoing,
- Church positions: Unknown position,
- Church position during alleged crime: Unknown position,
- Church position when accused: Unknown position,
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Born: 1973
- AKA Lane Sanders, Dr. Sanders
- Mission: unknown
Summary
Jonathan Sanders was a Mormon church member and dentist in Mesa, Arizona.
Sanders, a 32-year-old Mesa dentist who worked at Caffall Dental Care until the time of his charges, faced 23 federal charges, including receiving child sexual abuse material, coercion of a minor, and sending obscene material to minors.
Sanders was a Mormon church member, according to a source familiar with the case.
Sanders allegedly sent nude photos and videos to 10 girls aged 13-15 on Discord between October 2024 and March 2025, attempting to persuade them into illegal sexual activity.
Sanders used a work-issued tablet to bypass restrictions on his personal devices, according to a prosecutor.
He pleaded not guilty on June 26, 2025, and remains in custody.
The investigation began after a Connecticut girl’s mother reported suicidal behavior linked to Sanders’ messages.
If you have any information about this case or knew Sanders, please contact us.
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- Mesa dentist sent explicit photos to teens, prosecutors say,
- 'I'd love to cuddle you': East Valley dentist facing criminal charges for conversations with teens,
- Dentist accused of coercing underage girls to send nude images on Discord,
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1. Mesa dentist sent explicit photos to teens, prosecutors say
A Mesa dentist who promoted gentle care for anxious patients stands accused of sending nude photos to minors and receiving child sexual abuse material.
Jonathan Lane Sanders faces 23 federal counts, including receiving child pornography, coercion of a minor and transferring obscene material to a minor, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Sanders has been affiliated with Caffall Dental Care in Mesa, which has a website that calls him Dr. Lane Sanders.
Sanders tried to persuade 10 girls — ages 13 to 15 — to engage in illegal sexual activity, sending photos and videos of his penis between October 2024 and March 2025, the indictment said.
“He knows dental anxiety is very real and common, but he hopes to help his patients become more comfortable at the dentist through careful and gentle care,” Sanders’ biography on the Caffall Dental Care website said.
As of June 25, his information remained on the site. Federal charges were filed June 11. A person who answered the phone at Caffall Dental Care declined to talk about Sanders.
Sanders pleaded not guilty to the charges at his June 26 arraignment, where a federal judge ruled he would remain in custody for the duration of his case.
Dentist used work-issued tablet to send messages, prosecutor says
Investigators do not yet have a final count of how many minors they believe Sanders was in contact with, prosecutor Gale Helart said.
Prosecutors allege that he sent photos of his genitals to 19 users on the social media platform Discord, according to the complaint.
In the U.S., the minimum age to use Discord is 13, according to the company.
An investigation started in Connecticut after one of the girls Sanders is accused of messaging became suicidal, prosecutors said in court.
The mother found her daughter's messages on Discord and contacted police, the complaint said.
Police investigated the Discord account that had been messaging the girl and found that it had messaged 583 other accounts, the complaint said.
“Of those 583 accounts, many of the users stated they were minors,” the complaint said.
FBI investigators identified Sanders after reviewing messages and photos that the Discord account sent and received, the complaint said.
One of the photos Sanders sent showed him sitting “in what looked to be a dental office depicting a computer in the background, and an X-ray of what appears to be several teeth,” the complaint said.
Helart told the court that Sanders had used a smart tablet given to him at the dental office where he worked. After a breakdown in his marriage due to pornography, Sanders and his wife had agreed to set restrictions on his phone and other personal devices, the prosecutor said.
But Helart said Sanders circumvented those restrictions by using the work-issued tablet, avoiding the monitoring placed on his personal electronics.
Helart argued that Sanders posed a danger to the community if released, warning he could again circumvent monitoring.
“I just don't know if the threat from the court order is stronger than ... the threat of your marriage breaking up," Helart said. "That should be pretty strong, and it didn't work for him.”
Sanders’ attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
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2. 'I'd love to cuddle you': East Valley dentist facing criminal charges for conversations with teens
In a one-month span, the suspect allegedly exchanged over 1,800 messages with a Discord user who disclosed being a 15-year-old, records show.
MESA, Ariz. — An East Valley dentist is facing federal charges after the FBI investigated a Discord account that had been having explicit conversations with teen girls in other states.
Court records show Jonathan Lane Sanders, 32, was arrested on June 12 for allegedly sending and receiving inappropriate material on the social media platform. Sanders pleaded "not guilty" to the counts during a court appearance on June 26.
The Discord account associated with Sanders had allegedly been corresponding with over 30 accounts that appeared to be used by minors, according to a criminal complaint. The FBI noted how many of the conversations with suspected minors were sexually explicit and involved the exchange of photos.
The investigation began when a parent contacted authorities in Connecticut after discovering their 15-year-old had been communicating with an older man online, records show.
Officials reviewed the Discord account and found that its user consistently claimed to be a 31-year-old dentist from Arizona. The account was also linked to two IP addresses: one connected to Sanders and the other linked to a dental practice in Mesa.
The FBI reviewed several conversations taking place between October 2024 and March 2025 that involved graphic descriptions of sexual acts. In a conversation with a user who disclosed being a 13-year-old girl, Sanders' account sent a long message that ended with asking if she would be his girlfriend.
"I was thinking more because I'd love to cuddle you," a message from Sanders' account stated during the text exchange.
In a one-month span, Sanders' account allegedly exchanged over 1,800 messages with a Discord user who disclosed being 15, court records show.
The FBI further noted how Sanders' Discord account sent images of male genitalia to several other Discord users, as well as a picture of someone resembling Sanders sitting in a dental office.
On Thursday, 12News visited Caffall Dental Care, where the defendant reportedly worked, and staff declined to comment on the case.
Caffall Dental later released the following statement:
We, like many of you, are just now learning the details surrounding the recent arrest of Dr. Lane, a former dentist at our practice. He was escorted from our office by law enforcement early last week as our team arrived for work. At that time, we were given no explanation and had no knowledge of the situation or the reason for his removal.
Today, we were made aware of the charges and are deeply shocked and saddened by his actions.
Caffall Dental Care is committed to providing high-quality dental care with empathy, integrity, and professionalism. Dr. Lane’s conduct stands in direct opposition to our values, and he is no longer employed by our office.
We want to assure our patients and community that we are fully dedicated to maintaining a safe, trustworthy environment. Our reputation for compassionate care and professional excellence has been built over 45 years, and we remain firmly committed to those standards.
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3. Dentist accused of coercing underage girls to send nude images on Discord
MESA, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — A dentist is accused of coercing underage girls to send him nude images of themselves on Discord.
According to a federal complaint, Jonathan Lane Sanders, 32, faces multiple counts of knowingly receiving child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, and transferring obscene matter to a minor.
Sanders allegedly sent lewd images of himself to at least 19 people on Discord, including at least seven who said they were between 13 and 15 years old.
Federal prosecutors said the investigation started in October 2024 after the mother of one of the girls reported finding “indecent” material on her computer.
Investigators identified Sanders as the suspect after matching up his photo with the picture of a “Dr. Lane Sanders” at Caffall Dental Care in Mesa, Arizona.
Court paperwork also detailed the conversations where Sanders would engage in sexual messages and exchange nude pictures with several girls, even when explicitly told they were under 18.
Charging documents state four alleged victims, but investigators say Sanders was chatting with at least 31 different accounts that are believed to be children.
KPHO reached out to Caffall Dental Care for comment, but the clinic did not answer any questions by phone as of Thursday.
Documents
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Criminal case documents
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