ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- As a precautionary measure, a judge was escorted home by Allegheny County sheriff's deputies Wednesday after finding a Mt. Lebanon oral surgeon not guilty of sexually assaulting female patients.
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Watch Bob Mayo's ReportDeputy Chief Joseph Rizzo told WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo that deputies guarded county Judge Anthony Mariani's house in Ross Township throughout the night. It was done just for the night, and at Mariani's request.
"It was a rather high-profile case. There were several spectators in the courtroom yesterday. I would imagine the judge just felt in his best interest, the safety of his family, to have some security at his residence," Rizzo said.
Dr. Robert John Boyda, 44, of Mt. Lebanon,
was cleared by Mariani after a nonjury trial on charges that he molested and otherwise violated 17 patients while they were under anesthesia in his offices in Scott and Robinson townships.
Last month, Mariani got an anonymous letter that he deemed to be a possible threat. The letter was supposedly from people who attended dental school at Northwestern University with Boyda and claimed that he had a history of behavior similar to the allegations in his trial.
Part of the letter said, "If he is found anything other than guilty our problem will not be with Dr. Boyda but rather with YOU and we are prepared to do what would be appropriate in our group consensus opinion at that time. For now, know that we are all watching and awaiting your decision."
Rizzo said the FBI handled the investigation of Mariani's letter, and there has been no other communication that could have been construed as a threat since that time.
Reached by phone at his house on Thursday, Boyda declined to be interviewed or to comment to Channel 4 Action News.
Mariani also declined to comment on Thursday.
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