Pastor charged again for not reporting dying granddaughter

READING, Pa. – A Pennsylvania pastor who rejects modern medicine again faces a criminal charge related to his granddaughter’s death from pneumonia less than two weeks after the prosecution was thrown out.

Berks County prosecutors said Monday a charge was refiled against 72-year-old Rowland Foster based on a belief a judge made a legal mistake in dismissing the case.

Foster’s Faith Tabernacle Congregation is part of a fundamentalist Christian sect that instructs members to avoid doctors and pharmaceutical drugs.

Foster is accused of failing to properly report suspected abuse. His 2-year-old granddaughter died in November from what a forensic pathologist says was a highly treatable case of pneumonia.

Foster’s lawyer says he expected the decision but calls it disappointing.

The girl’s parents await trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The grandfather’s case could be assigned to another judge for the May 10 preliminary hearing.