Worcester church pastor faces lawsuit

WORCESTER, Mass. — A Holden woman who said she was sexually abused by the pastor of a Greek Orthodox church in Worcester has filed a lawsuit against the priest and several other church officials.

The Holden woman’s suit filed in Worcester Superior Court seeking a minimum of $40,000 in damages from the ex-pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, the Rev. Charles Abdelahad, as well as some of his superiors.

The Telegram & Gazette (http://bit.ly/1cBeThU ) reports that the suit said that the defendants should have known about the abuse and should have reported it to authorities.

Abdelahad was sentenced to serve 90 days of a two-year jail term after being convicted in May 2012 of abusing the woman during counseling sessions at the church.

Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com