A pastor is accused of shooting a dog in front of a kid and forcing them to bury the animal’s body and other incidents of alleged child abuse, and he and his wife are facing dozens of charges, FOX Carolina reported.
Why It Matters
Investigators said Myron Chorbajian abused his adopted children in the 1980s, the outlet reported. He is accused of sexually abusing several of them, forcing a child to search dumpsters and eat rotten food, forcing a child to sleep in a trashcan and paddling a child 50 times, the outlet reported.
Investigators say Kathleen knew of the abuse and failed to intervene or report it, according to the outlet. The two are facing more than 90 charges combined, the outlet reported.
Newsweek reached out to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, attorneys for Myron and Kathleen, and the Greenville Office of the County Attorney for additional information and comment.
What To Know
Myron and Kathleen Chorbajian had one biological child and seven adopted children in the 1980s, when the alleged abuse began, but the first complaint against the couple didn’t come until years later, in 1997, after the victim had become an adult and moved out of the home. Another abuse report was filed in April 2025, and four more were filed in May, just before the Chorbajians were arrested, Fox Carolina Investigates reported.
Myron and Kathleen were arrested in May 2025, according to Greenville County jail records. Myron is facing 73 charges, including multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, incest, unlawfully placing a child at risk, and assault and battery. He is being held without bond, according to jail records.
According to FOX Carolina, Myron is accused of a series of abusive events, including running over a child’s pet kitten and then shooting the kitten in the head in front of the child, placing a “victim in a trash can for three days” who was “made to eat trash from the trash can,” eating dirt off the floor, and reportedly killed a dog in the presence of a child and forced the victim to bury the dog.
Kathleen is accused of knowing about some incidents of alleged sexual abuse and not reporting them, as well as failing to act when children were beaten or forced to sleep in a trashcan outdoors, the warrants stated, according to the outlet.
A judge in South Carolina decided this month to grant a new request for bond filed by the wife, Kathleen Chorbajian, FOX Carolina reported, after her defense argued that the 71-year-old is not a flight risk, has deep ties to the community and has no prior criminal record, adding that Kathleen’s home has been broken into while she has been in jail for over 200 days since her arrest in May of last year.
The attorney also said that her grandchildren are allowed to visit for extended periods of time with permission from her children, the outlet reported.
“If Kathy and Myron were as bad as they say, why would they ever let their children stay with them, unsupervised, overnight? I think that’s very important,” the defense said, according to the outlet.
The prosecution pushed back on the defense’s arguments and said the case involves physical abuse and spiritual abuse, the outlet reported.
“This case is essentially about the weaponization of Christianity to justify the abuse of children,” the state’s attorney said, according to the outlet.
The judge agreed that Kathleen was not a flight risk but said he needed additional time to determine whether she is a danger to the community, the outlet reported. The judge granted a $120,000 surety bond, but ruled Kathleen cannot have contact with the victims, anyone under the age of 18, and her husband.
What People Are Saying
A defense attorney representing Kathleen Chorbajian, in comments to a judge reported by FOX Carolina: “I would just say, Your Honor, that this case is not as the state has advertised.”
A state’s attorney, in comments to a judge reported by FOX Carolina: “The time the abuse occurred, these victims were small children in foster care. They had nowhere else to go. These sadistic acts of abuse that were justified by religion against some of the most vulnerable members of our society, I don’t know a situation where someone could present a more clearly present danger to the community.”
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