PITTSBURGH -- The trial for a Mt. Lebanon oral surgeon who's accused of assaulting female patients left the Allegheny County Courthouse on Tuesday and went to the suspect's place of business.
At the defense's request, Judge Anthony Mariani visited Dr. Robert Boyda's office on Cochran Road in Scott Township, where prosecutors claim Boyda fondled or sexually assaulted patients from age 13 to age 58 as they recovered from dental surgery.
Mariani went there with prosecutor Janet Necessary, defense attorney Bill Difenderfer and Boyda so he could see how the office is laid out and how procedures are done there.
Also with them was Boyda's employee, Nichole Chapman, who gave her testimony as a defense witness inside the office while Mariani listened and asked questions.
Chapman said that she never saw Boyda alone with patients in the recovery room, where prosecutors claim the alleged victims were groped, molested or sexually assaulted.
Chapman showed Mariani that the room was 4 feet wide and between 7 and 8 feet long, with just enough room for a chair and a cot.
The defense tried to raise doubts about whether sex assaults could have happened in such a small space while employees and visitors were only a few steps away.
Testimony in Boyda's non-jury trial will move back to Mariani's courtroom and continue on Wednesday.
Difenderfer said he will call expert witnesses to testify that the drugs used in general anesthesia can cause sexual dreams, hallucinations and out-of-body experiences.
During the first part of the trial, prosecutors called former patients to testify that they woke from anesthesia to find Boyda assaulting them but were unable to stop him because of the effects of the drugs.
Former employees also testified to walking into the recovery room and seeing the doctor touching patients. One woman told Mariani that employees even called a meeting with Boyda's wife, who was the office manager, to tell her Boyda was "back to the same-old, same-old" and "in with the girls alone."
Previous Stories: - May 1, 2009: Ex-Employee: Surgeon Accused Of Assault 'Back To The Same-Old'
- April 30, 2009: Teen, Ex-Employee Testify To Mt. Lebo Surgeon's Groping
- April 28, 2009: Surgeon Sex Trial -- Student Describes Waking To Molestation
- April 27, 2009: Patient: Mt. Lebo Oral Surgeon Molested Me, Said 'Shh, It's OK'
- May 9, 2008: Witnesses Testify Against Mt. Lebanon Dentist On Sex Charges
- February 1, 2008: Mt. Lebanon Dentist Surrenders On New Sex Charges Involving Patients
- January 31, 2008: Women Claim Assault In Dentist Chair; A Dream, Says Lawyer
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