A man who says members of a secretive North Carolina religious group held him down and beat him wants the prosecutor kicked off his case, accusing the district attorney of siding with a church that dozens of former congregants have said abused them.

Matthew Fenner said in court documents that he has waited more than eight years for a retrial in the kidnapping and assault case involving Word of Faith Fellowship only for District Attorney Ted Bell to schedule the second trial for a church leader during the week Fenner had interviews for a medical residency. Fenner said Bell has refused to delay it.

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In a sworn statement, Fenner said Bell wants to stay on Word of Faith’s good side because he supports the locally influential church and its hundreds of members in the sm

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