Donnie McClurkin, the Grammy-winning gospel singer and minister who has publicly denounced homosexuality, has been sued for sexually abusing his former male private assistant.
McClurkin, 66, faces allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery and extra within the civil lawsuit filed Friday in New York County Supreme Court docket. The singer’s accuser, recognized in courtroom paperwork as Giuseppe Corletto, accuses McClurkin of sexually assaulting him quite a few instances from the beginning of his employment in 2004 to 2015. The criticism additionally contains an alleged e-mail from the singer, through which he apologizes for his actions and writes, “I’m the precise epitome of a determined soiled ‘previous man.’”
A authorized consultant for McClurkin denied the allegations as “categorically false.”
“At no time did Pastor McClurkin interact in any type of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” McClurkin legal professional Gregory S. Lisi stated in an announcement shared Tuesday. “The claims set forth within the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and a few accusations over 2 many years, in the past. All these allegations are contradicted by the actual information.”
Lisi added: “Pastor McClurkin denies each allegation of wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend in opposition to this lawsuit by way of the suitable authorized course of. As that is now energetic litigation, Pastor McClurkin won’t be commenting additional right now.”
The lawsuit claims Corletto was 21 years previous and struggling together with his sexuality when he met McClurkin, recognized for songs “I Name You Devoted” and “Wait on the Lord,” in August 2003. Corletto attended a studying for McClurkin’s 2001 guide “Everlasting Sufferer, Everlasting Victor,” centered on the singer’s expertise of “being delivered on homosexuality,” and met the singer, based on courtroom paperwork. Corletto sought steerage from the Grammy winner, who employed him as a private assistant.
The 2 males developed a mentor-mentee relationship and engaged in “pray the homosexual away” religious periods “throughout which Defendant McClurkin groped Plaintiff’s genitals” with out consent, based on the lawsuit. McClurkin had additionally allegedly “arrange situations” between Corletto and different males and framed them as “exams from God.”
In 2007, Corletto and his girlfriend traveled with McClurkin and the singer’s household to California, the place the artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in a lodge room. The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin uncovered himself to Corletto earlier than pulling him onto a mattress, forcefully kissing and grabbing his physique and forcing Corletto to interact in anal intercourse. When Corletto confronted his boss concerning the alleged assault, McClurkin allegedly stated he had no recollection and blamed Corletto’s conduct on treatment. The singer “additional manipulated Plaintiff, blaming him for the incident and convincing him that he was the only culpable social gathering,” complicated Corletto, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin “exploited this tactic repeatedly, coercing Plaintiff into additional undesirable sexual acts over the following six years,” together with quite a few alleged incidents whereas he was working at McClurkin’s church. The criticism particulars extra accounts of alleged sexual assault from 2007 to 2008.
Corletto had tried to cease working for McClurkin a number of instances, the lawsuit stated, however the singer refused, telling his assistant “that his ‘deliverance’ and ‘function’ have been tied” to him. The criticism provides that Corletto advised a number of church workers members of the alleged sexual assault, however that “no motion was taken.” Corletto stopped working for McClurkin in 2008, however continued operating into the singer within the following years, the lawsuit stated.
The “Once more” artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in 2012 in Orlando, the place the latter was coaching for an airline job. McClurkin discovered of his former worker’s location by way of one in all Corletto’s associates and appeared at his lodge room. The lawsuit alleged McClurkin stated he wanted to speak to Corletto, who “reluctantly agreed to let” the singer into his room. Contained in the lodge room, McClurkin allegedly “begged Plaintiff to have intercourse with him ‘one final time,’” however Corletto refused. Corletto alleges he woke as much as discover McClurkin masturbating and touching his physique earlier than the singer “pressured himself once more onto Corletto” and raped his former worker, the lawsuit says.
Corletto returned to McClurkin’s church in the summertime of 2013 and joined the singer throughout a visit to Niagara Falls. McClurkin allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto once more and days later despatched an e-mail apologizing for his actions, a screenshot included within the lawsuit exhibits. Along with likening himself to a “determined soiled ‘previous man,’” per the lawsuit, McClurkin allegedly wrote to Corletto, “I pressured myself on you … groping you … and once I give it some thought … you by no means touched me like that in any respect.” McClurkin additionally allegedly promised to be a buddy and pastor to Corletto.
Two years after McClurkin despatched the alleged e-mail, Corletto returned to the singer’s church amid his struggles with psychological well being. The lawsuit claims McClurkin engaged in additional sexual misconduct, “making the most of Plaintiff’s vulnerability and present fragile psychological state.”
Corletto “sustained damage, emotional misery, bodily ache, emotional ache and struggling, and lack of enjoyment of life” because of the sexual assault, the criticism stated. He seeks a jury trial, an unspecified quantity in compensatory damages, authorized charges and extra damages.
Occasions editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.
