Victor Ronald Salva (born March 29, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter, and convicted sex offender.

Salva's career has been controversial due to his 1988 conviction for sexually abusing Nathan Forrest Winters, the 12-year-old star of his debut feature film Clownhouse (1989), during its production; he also videotaped one of the encounters and was found to possess child pornography, though this was not publicized until 2006.

[5] His short horror film Something in the Basement (1986), an allegory about a young boy awaiting his brother's return from a bloody war, took first place in the fiction category at that year's Sony/AFI Home Video Competition.

[7] Following his 1988 conviction for sexually abusing Nathan Forrest Winters, the 12-year-old star of Clownhouse, Salva took a hiatus after his release from prison in 1992; he worked as a telemarketer during the week and wrote scripts during the weekend, supposedly delivering them to well-known producers while posing as a delivery boy.

"[8] Salva next wrote and directed the coming-of-age thriller film Rites of Passage (1999), which depicts a homophobic father who unwittingly pushes his gay son into the arms of a psychotic killer.

He then wrote and directed Jeepers Creepers (2001), which Coppola executive produced; it became a breakout hit and set a record for the largest Labor Day box office ever.

The film depicts the emotional and physical trials of a young gymnast and his awakening under the tutelage of a mysterious spiritual guide.

Salva wrote, directed, and produced Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017), which drew controversy for incorporating a character who was the victim of child sexual abuse.