Sewickley Doctor Charged with Indecent Assault

A Sewickley doctor with a Wexford practice has been charged with indecent assault after a female patient accused him of touching her inappropriately, according to police.

Dr. Thomas Tyma, of Allegheny North Arthritis Center, is scheduled for a Feb. 11 preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Regis Welsh.

Tyma, 53, was arrested Jan. 11 at his office at 150 Lake Drive after a 31-year-old Butler woman went to the Northern Regional Police Department with the accusation.  She is not identified because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault.

Tyma was released on a non-monetary bond, ordered to have no contact with the woman and ordered to undergo an evaluation at the county's behaviorial clinic, according to the police report.

Tyma, whose home address is listed on the police report as Blackburn Heights Drive in Sewickley, could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson at Allegheny North Arthritis Center said he is on a leave of absence.

The woman told police that she started seeing Tyma for treatment of back and hip arthritis in October, the police report said. Prior to that, she had seen a different doctor in the practice who is no longer there, according to the report.

When she saw Tyma for a Jan. 5 afternoon appointment, she said it was the first time she was alone in the room with him, the police report states. Previously, a family member or physician's assistant was present, according to the report

The woman told police the doctor told her to lie down on the exam table so he could listen to her heart with a stethoscope. She said he lifted her sweater above her breasts, the report states. 

While listening, "he took his left hand, slid it down from the top of her breasts underneath her bra and began to squeeze her left breast" for about 10 seconds without saying anything to explain what he was doing, according to the report.

"She was so alarmed that this occurred she did not know what to say," the report states.

The woman told police Tyma told her to stand in front of him with her buttocks facing him and bend over, the report states. The doctor allegedly rubbed the woman's sides, according to the report.

He then told her to bend over again and when she stood back up, "Dr. Tyma rubbed her sides and then moved down to her buttocks," the report states. He allegedly squeezed her buttocks with both hands for a few seconds, according to the report.

"She was shocked by his action," the report states, "and could not look at Dr. Tyma because she was so embarassed."