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The punishment trial for the Alton pastor who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two women continued Tuesday as the jury was presented with video evidence of one instance of the crime and emotional testimony from the victims.
Melquisedec Chan, 58, pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of practicing medicine without a license in Texas.
His plea came right before he was set to go to trial.
Chan was arrested on April 11, 2018 on charges that he sedated two women and sexually assaulted them. Chan, who was not a licensed doctor in Texas, operated a medical clinic out of his church.
On Tuesday, the jury heard from the brother of one of the victims who had recorded and witnessed the assault.
The brother choked back tears as the video was shown to the court. Chan was also seen with his hands cupping his face as he cried.
When asked why he didn’t intervene during the act, the brother stated, “I could’ve killed him, I could’ve killed him on the spot.”
He recalled that his sister had confided in him and though he didn’t believe her, he went along with the plan and placed his phone on a planter facing the direction of the room Chan and the victim were in.
The brother was hidden at the top of the stairs of the home when the incident occurred. He restrained himself because he knew he needed evidence to provide law enforcement.
“She’s suffered ever since,” he said.
He explained that he’s had to take care of her due to her mental health issues caused by the assault. She’s been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, PTSD, anxiety and has been going to therapy ever since.
When she took the stand, she explained that she began to have nightmares where Chan’s face would appear and felt as if she was losing her mind, similar to the first victim who testified on Monday.
The first victim testified that she also felt as if she was losing her mind and that no one wanted to believe her as people saw Chan as a good man and pastor.
She attempted to catch Chan on film as well, but the surveillance camera she borrowed from a friend could only catch so much and none of it useful.
When she had had enough, she testified that she sent Chan a text saying she knew what he had done to her and that she didn’t want to see him again. Chan ceased to communicate with her.
“My memory is pretty vague,” she told prosecutors. “I blocked a lot of things.”
“I only want to forget what he did to me.”
A chemist working for the Texas Department of Public Safety also testified on Tuesday and revealed that Chan had been using a sedative to put the women to sleep in order to take advantage of them.
Chan had told the first victim that the injections were vitamins.
“He left me damaged,” she said.
So far, there have been six witnesses who have testified, including both victims, the brother of one victim, a DPS chemist and two police officers.
Testimony is scheduled to continue Wednesday.
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Alton pastor, unlicensed doctor pleads guilty to aggravated sexual assault
