A South Carolina pastor and his wife are accused of abusing children for decades, with investigators alleging the couple forced some children to search dumpsters for rotten food, sleep in a trash can and watch as family pets were killed, according to arrest warrants and court testimony.
Myron Chorbajian, 73, and Kathleen Chorbajian, 71, were arrested in May 2025 after Greenville County investigators said adopted children came forward with allegations reaching back to the 1980s. The case, which includes sexual abuse and child endangerment counts, returned to court this month when a judge set conditions for Kathleen Chorbajian’s release on bond while Myron Chorbajian remained jailed without bond.
Investigators say the allegations surfaced in April 2025 when a victim reported what authorities described as extensive abuse inside the couple’s home. Myron Chorbajian served as pastor at First Southern Methodist Church in Greenville before his arrest, authorities said. The couple adopted numerous children over the years, and investigators say the alleged mistreatment occurred while victims were in their care as foster or adopted children with few other options.
The charges filed against Myron Chorbajian include multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, incest and unlawful conduct placing a child at risk, along with assault and battery charges, according to jail and court records described by local outlets. Kathleen Chorbajian is charged with multiple counts tied to unlawfully placing a child at risk and accessory-after-the-fact felony counts, authorities said. Prosecutors have alleged she knew about abuse and did not intervene or report it.
Arrest warrants and court reports describe allegations of severe discipline and deprivation. Investigators allege Myron Chorbajian struck a child with a paddle dozens of times and, in another incident, beat a child with a belt until the child lost consciousness. Warrants also allege he punched a child in the face, forced one child to eat dirt, and forced a child to sleep in a trash can for days while also making the child eat trash. Another allegation says he compelled a child to search dumpsters and eat rotten, discarded food.
Authorities also describe alleged cruelty used to intimidate children. Investigators allege Myron Chorbajian ran over a child’s pet kitten and then shot it in front of the child. They also allege he shot a family dog in the kitchen while a child watched and then forced the child to bury the animal. Prosecutors have not said whether additional animal cruelty charges were filed, but the pet-killing allegations have been cited in court as examples of what they call a pattern of control and fear.
The couple was taken into custody far from home. Metropolitan Nashville police located Myron and Kathleen Chorbajian on May 15, 2025, on Opry Mills Drive in Nashville while the pair attended a trip tied to the Grand Ole Opry area, according to authorities and warrants. Investigators said the couple was arrested near a Dave & Buster’s and later extradited back to South Carolina to face charges in Greenville County.
In the months that followed, both defendants remained jailed as the case expanded and moved through hearings. Prosecutors and investigators have described the allegations as spanning decades and involving multiple children, which can complicate timelines and require extensive interviews, records reviews and corroboration. Authorities have not publicly listed how many alleged victims are part of the investigation, and they have not released their names because of privacy protections in sexual assault and child abuse cases.
Public attention in Greenville sharpened again on Feb. 13, 2026, when Kathleen Chorbajian appeared in court for a bond request. Her attorney argued she was not a flight risk and emphasized her age, lack of a prior record and connections to the community. The defense also argued that family members had allowed grandchildren to visit and stay overnight, contending the case “is not as the state has advertised,” according to a courtroom report.
Prosecutors opposed release, arguing Kathleen Chorbajian posed a danger because, they said, she enabled abuse and used religion to manipulate children. A prosecutor told the court that the case involved what the state called spiritual abuse layered onto physical harm and that the victims were vulnerable children with nowhere else to go. The judge found she was not a flight risk but said more evaluation was needed on danger to the community before deciding conditions, the report said.
The judge ultimately granted Kathleen Chorbajian a $120,000 surety bond with strict restrictions. Conditions included house arrest with GPS monitoring, no contact with alleged victims, no contact with anyone under 18 and no contact with her husband, who is a codefendant. The order allowed her to leave home for limited reasons, including medical, legal and religious needs, according to the court report.
Myron Chorbajian remained jailed without bond, according to the same reporting and earlier jail records. The charges against him include allegations of sexual assaults involving minors and acts described in warrants as violence and coercion. Prosecutors have not outlined in public filings a full narrative of each alleged offense, and defense attorneys have not publicly detailed their response beyond challenging the state’s description at bond hearings. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The investigation’s timeline has been central to the case because many allegations date back decades. Investigators say the accusations began in the 1980s, and warrants describe incidents across different periods, including the 1990s, when some alleged victims were still minors. Court records and reporting have described the investigation as growing after the first report in April 2025, with detectives taking statements and preparing warrants as additional allegations were reviewed.
Cases with historic allegations often involve a mix of evidence types, including witness statements, medical or school records if they exist, and statements from people who knew the family. Prosecutors have not said what documentation they have gathered in this case or whether investigators recovered physical evidence tied to older allegations. The case has nonetheless produced a large number of charges, with local reporting describing more than 90 counts combined between the two defendants.
Greenville County investigators have emphasized that Kathleen Chorbajian is accused not of the assaults described in the warrants but of failing to protect children and, in some instances, being charged as an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors have argued that her alleged inaction was not passive but part of a household environment that made it harder for children to seek help. Defense arguments have focused on community ties and questioned why family members would allow children to visit if they believed the defendants were dangerous.
The case has also placed a spotlight on the couple’s religious role and how investigators say faith was used inside the home. In court, prosecutors argued the alleged abuse was justified or excused through religious framing, a point they said increased the harm to victims because it blended discipline with authority and fear. Defense attorneys have not publicly addressed those claims in detail, and no trial testimony has occurred in the public record cited in recent coverage.
The church where Myron Chorbajian served has not been accused of wrongdoing by investigators, and authorities have not alleged that church leadership participated in the alleged abuse. In earlier coverage, an official connected to the Southern Methodist Church said the organization was aware of the arrests but had no comment. Investigators have not said whether any allegations involve conduct that occurred on church property, and the publicly described claims focus on the household setting and the couple’s care of children.
What happens next will depend on pretrial rulings, evidence disclosures and whether prosecutors seek to consolidate charges or proceed with separate sets of counts tied to different alleged victims. Court schedules in multi-count cases can take months as attorneys exchange evidence, challenge warrant language and litigate what testimony can be admitted. No trial date was included in the most recent courtroom report, and prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek plea agreements or move toward trial.
For now, Kathleen Chorbajian’s release is conditioned on house arrest and strict no-contact orders, and Myron Chorbajian remains in custody. Prosecutors have signaled they intend to continue presenting the case as one involving long-term harm to children who were dependent on their caregivers. Defense attorneys, in arguing for bond, have suggested they will challenge the state’s portrayal and the weight of the allegations as the case progresses.
Author note: Last updated February 17, 2026.