A pastor and fugitive from South Carolina, alongside his wife, were arrested outside the Grand Ole Opry on May 15, according to the Daily Mail. This comes after 73-year-old Myron Chorbajian and his 70-year-old wife Kathleen received accusations of child abuse.
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Police Catch Fugitive Pastor And Wife Outside Music Venue
Police caught the couple outside of the popular country music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. The two now face a slew of child abuse charges after being extradited to South Carolina.
Myron was a pastor for First Southern Methodist Church in Greenville. The pastor and his wife share adopted and biological children who were involved in the allegations.
According to the report obtained by WHNS, the abuse of their total of eight children dates back to the 1980s. They have one biological daughter and seven adopted children. It took until April 2025 for one of the victims to speak to the authorities about the ongoing abuse.
Early reports mentioned that all male children suffered from physical abuse. Meanwhile, all the female children were subjected to sexual abuse. Since the abuse started, two of the victims have passed away. We don’t yet know the cause of their deaths.
The authorities charged Myron with three counts of sexual conduct with a minor, three counts of incest, 14 counts of unlawful placing child at risk, two counts of assault and battery (second degree), and one count of criminal sexual conduct (second degree).
Kathleen received fewer charges than her pastor husband. She’s facing 14 counts of unlawful placing child at risk and two counts of accessory after the fact of felony.
Pastor And Wife Given Multiple Abuse Charges Dating Back To 1980s
There are a myriad of disturbing reports of abuse from this couple. At one point, Myron allegedly forced one of his children to “eat rotten and discarded food” from dumpsters. He also allegedly beat one child so badly that they lost consciousness, and he had forced another to sleep in and eat out of a trash can.
On two separate occasions, the father hit one of his children up to 50 times in a row, all while they were naked or in their underwear. The arrest warrant mentioned he often used paddles or belts when beating his kids.
The mother was no better, as reports allege she was present for many of her husband’s horrible punishments. She failed to intervene and allowed Myron to abuse their children. There were some instances where she’d do the punishing. Kathleen allegedly forced one kid to eat a whole bar of soap and hit another child over the head with a skillet.
Myron took out his anger on animals as well. According to the cops, the paster killed one of the child’s dogs before forcing them to bury it. He had also allegedly run over one of their kittens and shot it in the head while the child watched.
The couple is being held in Greenville County Detention Center without any bond.