Mattapan clergyman indicted on child rape, assault charges

A Boston clergyman who was arrested last year amid allegations of child rape was indicted last week after a grand jury inquiry in Suffolk Superior Court. George Swain, 71, will be arraigned next month for seven counts of rape of a child and five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s office.

Swain, who serves as the bishop of Greater Victory Temple in Mattapan, is alleged to have assaulted three males when they were in their teens or younger.  The victims, now in their 30s, said they were assaulted at the church or at Swain’s Dorchester home.  

“Bishop Swain is accused of using his position of trust and authority to ingratiate himself to his victims and their families, grooming them in order to gain access to targets for his sexual abuse.  He allegedly preyed on his victims’ faith and used it as an entryway into their lives,” Rollins said. 

Swain is due to be arraigned on April 14 in Suffolk Superior Court. Survivors of child abuse and exploitation can contact the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County at 617-779-2146 if they need help.  Survivors may also contact the Child Protection Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office at 617-619-4300.


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