The convicted leader of a deadly satanic cult was yesterday charged by a prosecutor in central Greece with abducting a woman and impersonating a police officer while on a five-day furlough from prison.

Asimakis Katsoulas was one of three people convicted in 1995 for their part in the kidnap, rape and murder of a 30-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl in occult ceremonies in deserted buildings near Athens.

A young Albanian woman alleged that Katsoulas approached her on Monday afternoon in the town of Itea, northwest of Athens, claiming to be a police officer and forcing her into his car. The woman claims that while they were driving to a nearby village, she fainted and Katsoulas then dumped her at a bus station, back in Itea.

Based on the description given by the woman, who also noted the car’s number plate, police arrested Katsoulas shortly afterward. Katsoulas denied the charges and claimed he was the victim of a vendetta by guards at Malandrino Prison, where he was returned yesterday.