Six female patients testified this morning they were sexually assaulted by an oral surgeon after having medical procedures done at his office in Robinson.

Dr. Robert John Boyda Jr., 43, of Mt. Lebanon, is charged with sexually assaulting 20 patients on various dates over the past few years. He faces multiple counts in each instance.

A 19-year-old woman told the court she had wisdom teeth pulled on Dec. 26. When she awoke in the recovery room, she said, the doctor was forcing her hand on his genitals, rubbing her chest with his other hand and saying, "That's a girl."

An 18-year-old who needed two wisdom teeth extracted testified that when she awoke from surgery Aug. 14, 2006, Dr. Boyda's genitals were exposed and he forced his penis in her mouth. When a nurse or assistant passed by the open door, she said, he would pivot to hide what was going on. She said she told her mother when she got home, but didn't report the offense until she heard about Dr. Boyda in the news, because "Who really wants to admit that?"

A 22-year-old who had a procedure on Nov. 9 said she felt his penis rubbing against her lips when she awoke. "I looked at him. I made a waving motion and said 'no,' " she said. "He said, 'Shhhh, it's OK.' "

Before a packed courtroom of victims' families and Dr. Boyda's friends and family, defense attorney William Difenderfer asked each patient whether they recalled other details from their surgical procedures. Several said some of the details were foggy, but all said they vividly remembered the sexual assaults. He asked a few witnesses why they waited to report the assaults until after they heard news reports about a pattern of abuse at the office. The women who testified this morning ranged from 17 to 58 years old.

Deputy District Attorney Janet Necessary plans to call 11 more witnesses to testify when the defendant's preliminary hearing resumes this afternoon before Magisterial District Judge Gary M. Zyra, in the Allegheny Criminal Courthouse. Charges involving three remaining victims will be rescheduled for another day.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.