Suspended Bangor Priest Indicted for Sexually Abusing Minor, Possession of Child Pornography
By Judy Harrison
The former priest at St. George Greek Orthodox Church was indicted Tuesday by the Penobscot County grand jury on four counts of sexual abuse of a minor, one count each of possession of sexually explicit materials and violation of privacy. Adam Metropoulos, 52, of Bangor was arrested Sept. 15 after allegedly possessing child pornography and for surreptitiously photographing a woman taking a shower in his bathroom. A subsequent investigation led the Penobscot County district attorney’s office to seek charges alleging the sexual abuse of a minor. Metropoulos is expected to be arraigned Dec. 3 at the Penobscot Judicial Center. Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, said there was one male victim who was 15 years old at the time the alleged abuse took place, between the summer of 2005 and the spring of 2007. The priest knew the victim through the church, Roberts said. The victim came forward after Metropoulos’ arrest was covered by the local media, Roberts said. “We are concerned that there may be more victims, but the Bangor police have been very thorough in their investigation,” he said. Roberts said that investigators also discovered a second video that appeared to have been made in a shower in a location out of state. When it was made could not be determined. “We can’t charge him with that because the video was not made in Maine,” the prosecutor said. The victim in the video appeared to be a teenager or young adult woman. The grand jury, which usually convenes on the fourth Wednesday of the month, met Tuesday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Metropoulos remained Tuesday at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post bail of $50,000 cash or $100,000 surety. Roberts said outside the courthouse after Metropoulos’ first court appearance in September that the high bail was warranted given the suspended priest’s 1983 conviction on a sex charge in Michigan and his admission to police that a few years ago, he “touched two 15-year-old boys inappropriately.” “We thought it best to act aggressively to ensure the safety of the children in the community,” Roberts said. Court officials in Saginaw, Michigan, said that records concerning Metropoulos’ conviction there were unavailable to the public but were available to law enforcement and prosecutors. Under Michigan law, a conviction might be expunged from the public record if a period of probation was completed successfully and it was a first offense. The bishop of the Greek Orthodox diocese that includes Maine suspended the priest of St. George church the day after his arrest. Metropoulos was convicted in Michigan in 1983 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 13, according to Saginaw court records. If convicted, Metropoulos faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on the abuse and the possession of child pornography charges, a Class C crime, and up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000 on the violation of privacy charge, a Class D crime. To reach a sexual assault advocate, call the Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Line at 800-871-7741, TTY 888-458-5599. This free and confidential 24-hour service is accessible from anywhere in Maine. Calls are automatically routed to the closest sexual violence service provider.
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