A former podiatrist was sentenced Wednesday to serve a one- to two-year jail term on house arrest and six years of probation for assaulting patients and overprescribing opioids in a manner that caused some patients to become addicted, according to Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office.

An Armstrong County judge sentenced Dr. Matthew Sabo, 52, of Chicora, after the former foot doctor pleaded guilty to overprescribing opioids to patients and accessing their personal information after his privileges were suspended, a news release from Sunday’s office said.

Sabo had operated The Foot and Ankle Wellness Center of Western Pennsylvania since 2007. He was charged in 2022 following allegations of misconduct from 2011 through 2021 at his offices.

“This doctor had an obligation to provide sound medical care and treatment to his patients, and instead abused his authority for his own selfish reasons,” Sunday said. “This type of conduct leaves a stain on the entire medical profession and the many doctors and healthcare providers who act every day in the best interests of their patients.”

The news release on Wednesday indicated Sabo pleaded guilty to Controlled Substance Drug Device and Cosmetic Act, knowingly or intentionally obtaining information from the ABC-MAP system, and simple assault related to his conduct at his Armstrong and Butler County offices.

Women had testified before a Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, saying that Sabo had grabbed them inappropriately and gave them high levels of opioids for extended periods.

“What kind of doctor does this? What kind of doctor puts his patients in harm’s way?” a victim said ahead of the sentencing, according to the attorney general’s office. “He got pure enjoyment knowing he could put his hands anywhere he wanted to because he made me so dependent on a drug, a drug that he over-prescribed.”

The attorney general’s office previously said that one patient reported Sabo grabbed her buttocks while hugging her during one appointment at his Butler office and kissed her and placed her hand on his crotch during another appointment in 2021.

The niece of a patient had testified that on June 13, 2019, Sabo asked her if he could touch her breasts and then touched them while she was waiting in the waiting room of his Ford City office for her aunt’s X-rays to be completed, according to the 2022 indictment.

The Wednesday news release from Sunday’s office said the woman reported they believed they would lose access to the prescriptions if they rejected or reported Sabo’s actions.

“Prior to seeing Dr. Sabo, I had never taken a pain pill,” the victim said, according to the attorney general’s office. “After seeing him, I was addicted.”

During the investigation, agents discovered Sabo’s access to the state prescription drug monitoring resource was suspended in July 2022, but he continued to access the database for nearly a dozen individuals.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Kara Cotter.