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Alton pastor arrested on sexual assault charge
By Molly Smith
EDINBURG — An Alton pastor was arrested Wednesday after a woman reported that he sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. Melquisedec Chan, 52, was arraigned Thursday on aggravated sexual assault and practicing medicine without a license charges. Chan and his wife, who live in Mission, founded Vida Abundante church in Alton nearly two decades ago, according to its website, which describes him as a surgeon in Mexico. He is not licensed, however, by the Texas Medical Board, and thus unable to legally practice medicine in the state. His arrest came after a woman reported to police that Chan, a family doctor, allegedly sedated and then sexually assaulted her, according to a criminal complaint. Chan had been visiting the woman at her Edinburg home since early March “to follow up with her, after a surgery she got done in Mexico in which he was present,” the complaint states. At some point, the woman alerted her brother of her concern that Chan was sexually assaulting her, telling him “she could not be sure because he was injecting her with something that would put her to sleep,” and which clouded her memory. On April 9, the brother observed Chan placing his genitals in her mouth "while she was sedated,” according to the complaint, which led to her filing charges against the man. A sexual assault forensic exam revealed the woman had a drug in the benzodiazepines family in her system. Benzodiazepines are a common anesthetic used by doctors before certain procedures or surgeries. As of this report, Chan remains in the Hidalgo County jail. His bond was set at $750,000. Vida Abundante could not be reached for comment. Investigators believe Chan may have committed this type of crime before and are asking anyone else who believes they may be a victim to file a report with their local police department. Contact: msmith@themonitor.com
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