Photo: Getty Images North America
Chart-topping gospel singer and pastor Donnie McClurkin is facing a lawsuit alleging that he sexually abused a young male congregant over the course of nearly a decade, per NBC News.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday (January 2) by a man identified as Giuseppe Corletto, accuses McClurkin of sexual assault and sexual battery between 2007 and 2015. McClurkin, a three-time Grammy Award winner with multiple No. 1 gospel hits, has denied the allegations.
According to the lawsuit, Corletto joined McClurkin’s Perfecting Faith Church in Long Island, New York, in 2003 when he was 21 years old. Corletto said he sought McClurkin’s spiritual guidance while struggling with his sexuality, after the pastor had written publicly about being “delivered from homosexuality.” Corletto alleges that McClurkin, then 44, started counseling him to "pray the gay away" before later hiring him as a personal assistant and traveling with him for work.
The lawsuit claims McClurkin sexually assaulted and raped Corletto multiple times in hotel rooms and private residences across several states, beginning in 2007. Corletto alleges he attempted to leave the situation but was coerced into staying through spiritual manipulation, including claims that his “deliverance” and “purpose” were tied to McClurkin.
The suit includes an image of what appears to be a 2013 email in which McClurkin allegedly admits to the conduct and apologizes. In the alleged email, McClurkin refers to himself as a “desperate dirty old man," saying, “I forced myself on you.”
McClurkin’s attorney, Greg Lisi, strongly denied the allegations.
“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” Lisi said in a statement. “The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions.”
Corletto alleges the abuse resumed in 2012 and continued intermittently through 2015, including incidents in Florida, Boston, and Niagara Falls. He says the alleged misconduct caused lasting emotional and physical harm.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of financial damages.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.