WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER — A woman testified in court today that she was physically abused and sexually assaulted by her church pastor during counseling sessions aimed at treating her eating disorder.
The 45-year-old alleged victim was the first witness called by Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle during The Very Rev. Charles Michael Abdelahad’s jury-waived Central District Court trial on charges of indecent assault and battery, five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and four counts of assault and battery.
Rev. Abdelahad, 55, of 14 Bryant Ave., Shrewsbury, the longtime pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral at 30 Anna St., is on a voluntary leave of absence from his position at the church, according to his lawyer, James G. Reardon Jr.
The complaining witness testified that she first met Rev. Abdelahad in 1987, after a suicide attempt left her comatose in a hospital’s intensive care unit, and the young priest came to administer the sacrament of Holy Unction.
She said she and Rev. Abdelahad formed a relationship, but lost touch for several years after she moved back in with her family in Connecticut.
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