Foot doctor practicing in 5 counties accused in state grand jury indictment of sexually abusing a dozen women

A foot doctor with offices in five Western Pennsylvania counties faces multiple felony charges after a state grand jury heard testimony from a dozen women who accused him of sexually assaulting them during office visits.

Some of the women told the grand jury that the doctor got them hooked on narcotics so they would continue coming back to see him.

Agents with the state Attorney General’s Office charged Dr. Matthew James Sabo, 48, of Chicora with 10 felonies, including a count of operating a corrupt organization, three counts of sexual extortion and six counts of illegally writing narcotics prescriptions. He also faces six counts of indecent assault.

Sabo was released from custody on a $100,000 unsecured bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge J. Gary DeComo in Ford City on Sept. 9.

The charges were filed on the recommendation of the 48th Statewide Investigative Grand Jury, which unsealed the 17-page indictment Wednesday, June 22, according to court documents.

Investigators say in the presentment that between 2011 and 2021, Sabo: “unlawfully utilized his medical practice … and abused his position as a podiatrist in order to indecently assault his patients.”

The grand jury also wrote that Sabo violated drug laws by “over-prescribing opioid medication to certain patients, which led to their addiction to the pills.”

Investigators said he “preyed upon the vulnerability of these addicted patients who endured the sexual assaults so that they could receive more prescriptions.”

Sabo is the founder and president of the Foot and Ankle Wellness Center of Western Pennsylvania, which he launched in 2007. The company has offices in Ford City, Butler, Monaca, Grove City and Moon Township.

A state narcotics agent testified to the grand jury that she started investigating Sabo after an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reported that they had received a sexual misconduct complaint in 2019 that was filed by one of the doctor’s patients.

Investigators also wrote that the attorney general’s office received a complaint from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center after they completed an audit of his prescribing habits, according to the presentment.

Investigators said Sabo also raised suspicions after they executed a search warrant for medical records and found documents indicating that he “suddenly started ordering urine screens and discharging patients in June 2020 after he learned that his patients were being interviewed.”

The dozen women who testified before the grand jury reported that, among other things, he made sexually suggestive comments to them when they were alone in an examining room, touched their breasts and buttocks, kissed them, forced them to touch him and pressed his body against theirs, according to his arrest papers.

Several of the women told investigators that Sabo increased their pain medication without them asking, which caused them to become addicted to the drugs.

They told authorities that they did not call police following these incidents because he indicated to them that if they reported him he would cut off their supply of narcotics.

One patient told investigators that after the doctor began touching her, she got hooked on hydrocodone when he increased her prescription from 90 pills a month to 180 pills even though she had not suffered any additional trauma and had not asked for more doses.

The most recent set of charges against Sabo likely will be combined with charges filed against him in January by state police from the Kittanning station, according to his lawyer, Phil DiLucente.

Sabo was charged with two felony counts of engaging in sexual conduct and two misdemeanor charges of indecent assault without consent in that case.

Doctor’s attorney reacts

“Dr. Sabo is one of the most successful foot surgeons in Western Pennsylvania and will use whatever financial resources necessary and leave no stone unturned to clear his name and his great reputation in the community,” DiLucente said.

While DiLucente did not minimize the accusations made against his client, he said the case “has nothing to do with sex.”

“These accusations are not about vaginal, oral or any other kind of sex, nothing like that,” DiLucente said. “It’s strictly a touching case that’s being made by the Attorney General’s Office. And we plan to fight those accusations vigorously.”

DiLucente noted that the conditions for Sabo’s release from custody include having no contact with any of his accusers and not having someone contact them on his behalf.

Sabo also is not permitted to see patients, his lawyer said.

According to the state licensing board, Sabo was licensed to practice medicine in August 2000. His license remains active and was last renewed in October 2020. It is scheduled to expire in December.

Sabo has not had any disciplinary actions during his 22-year career, according to records with the licensing board.