Man who assaulted teen at local mall accused of harassing judge
A Westmoreland County man who plead guilty to simple assault for body-slamming a 16-year-old girl at a local mall is now accused of harassing a district judge.
Tyler Zidek, 25, of East Vandergrift, is charged with harassment for allegedly calling long-time Allegheny Township District Judge Cheryl Yakopec 13 times, according to the complaint. He allegedly placed nine of the calls one night in November and called her a derogatory name.
Yakopec told Lower Burrell police she took her phone of the hook to stop the calls.
Officers were granted a search warrant and found the phone number used to make the calls, tracing it to Zidek’s grandparent’s home where he was living, according to court documents.
Police said Zidek initially denied making the calls, then admitted to calling Yakopec to “inconvenience her like she inconvenienced him,” according to the complaint. He told police he had been in her courtroom several times over the years and he felt Yakopec and her staff were corrupt and he wasn’t treated fairly.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13.
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