Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.
By Mark A. Kellner
Myron and Kathleen Ann Chorbajian have been jailed on nearly 40 counts related to the abuse of their seven adopted children and one biological daughter. (Photo: Greenville County Sheriff’s Office)
A Greenville, South Carolina, pastor and his wife have been jailed on nearly 40 counts related to the abuse of their seven adopted children and one biological daughter, with allegations dating back to the 1980s.
Myron Chorbajian, 73, pastor of the 1st Southern Methodist Church in Greenville and his wife, Kathleen Ann Chorbajian, 70, were arrested on May 15, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to documents obtained by The Roys Report (TRR), Myron faces charges including three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor (ages 11–14), three counts of incest, one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, 14 counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk or harm, and two counts of second-degree assault and battery.
Kathleen Chorbajian is charged with 14 counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk or harm and two counts of accessory after the fact to a felony. Authorities allege she was aware of the abuse but failed to intervene or report it. While no specific occupation for Kathleen is noted in available records, she is described as a homemaker who participated in raising the couple’s eight children.
The investigation began in April 2025 after a victim reported “extensive abuse” to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Specialized Investigations Division, officials said. The abuse, which allegedly occurred in the family’s Greenville home beginning in the 1980s, included physical, sexual, and psychological harm.
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On Apr. 27, 2025, Pastor Myron Chorbajian preaches at First Southern Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo: Facebook)
Warrants detail Myron Chorbajian’s alleged acts, such as sexually abusing female children and beating children with belts or paddles (in one case until unconsciousness). Chorbajian also reportedly forced a child to eat rotten food from dumpsters and killed family pets in front of the children, including running over a kitten and shooting it in the head.
Kathleen is accused of forcing a child to eat a bar of soap, striking a child with a skillet causing visible bruises and head trauma, and making a child sleep in a garbage can.
Two of the alleged abuse victims are now deceased, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said, though the causes of their deaths have not been disclosed.
The couple was extradited to the Greenville County Detention Center, where they remain without bond. South Carolina has no statute of limitations on child sexual abuse charges, allowing prosecution for these decades-old allegations.
The 1st Southern Methodist Church has not publicly commented on Myron Chorbajian’s status as pastor, last seen preaching on April 27, 2025, according to the church’s Facebook page.First Southern Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo: Facebook)
TRR has also contacted the Rev. Rick Pigott, SMC denominational president, for comment on Chorbajian’s arrest but did not immediately hear back.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.
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