Allegheny County district judge accused of misconduct involving interactions with teenagers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — An Allegheny County district judge stands accused of misconduct involving his interactions with several teenagers, including improper contact outside of court and improper touching.
A judicial board has filed a complaint against District Judge Anthony Saveikis alleging "impropriety" in incidents involving three teenage boys.
The state Judicial Conduct Board has filed a 12-page complaint against Saveikis, accusing him of improper interactions involving three teenage boys, two of whom were defendants who came before his court in Findlay Township.
The complaint put Judge Saveikis on notice, saying the board has "determined that there is probable cause to file formal charges against you for your conduct."
In the first incident in November 2018, the complaint says the judge went to a diner where a 17-year-old boy was working and followed him into the walk-in freezer. There, it says, the judge proceeded to touch the teenager's shoulders, arms and back, causing him to feel "very vulnerable."
In another, in March 2022, the judge ordered a 17-year-old defendant to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and complete community service at McSummerfest, a community fair in McDonald. The complaint says the judge often went to the fairgrounds to see the teenager, offering to take him out socially and texting him on his personal cellphone.
In yet a third incident in April 2022, he sentenced a 14-year-old defendant to work at another festival and visited that boy there. The complaint says on one occasion, he took the boy off the fairgrounds' property and bought him things at a convenience store, touching him on the arms and shoulders, making the boy feel "uncomfortable."
The first and third incidents were reported to the Findlay Township Police Department, which referred them to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, which in both cases declined to file charges. But according to the complaint, the DA's office reported both incidents to then-President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, who twice "strongly cautioned Judge Saveikis about his behavior."
In filing this complaint, the judicial review board will give Saveikis 30 days to respond to the charges. Penalties range from official sanctions to suspension to his possible removal from the bench.
KDKA-TV reached out to attorney Bob DelGreco, who will represent Saveikis in front of the conduct board, but he said he has no comment on the charges at this time.