Grammy-winning gospel singer and pastor Donnie McClurkin has been accused of sexually abusing his former assistant.
Giuseppe Corletto filed a demanda judicial against McClurkin on Friday, alleging that the chart–topping singer abused him from 2007 to 2015. The abuse allegedly escalated from groping to raping over the years.
McClurkin, now 66, has denied the allegations. McClurkin's attorney, Greg Lisi, told noticias de la nbc that the claims in the lawsuit are “categorically false.”
“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” Lisi said. “The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over two decades, ago. All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”
El Informe Roys (TRR) reached out to Lisi for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication. TRR also reached out to McClurkin's Long Island, New York congregation, Perfecting Faith Church, but did not immediately hear back.
McClurkin, a three-time Grammy award winner, has sold more than 13 million albums.
He has also made headlines for sharing about how sexual abuse from a family member led him to have same-sex attraction. In his 2001 autobiographical book, Eternal Victim-Eternal Victor, he said prayer and faith enabled him to reverse this.
“Pray the gay away”
Corletto first met McClurkin in 2003 after read McClurkin’s book and decided to attend his church. Corletto, then 21, sought out the pastor for guidance on his own struggles with homosexuality, according to the lawsuit. Corletto told NBC News that during the service, McClurkin “talked about being raped as a child, which resonated with me because that’s similar to my story.”
Corletto recalled that the 44-year-old pastor assured him that he would deliver him from homosexuality, the lawsuit said. The two then started a “mentor-mentee” relationship where the pastor helped him to “pray the gay away.” McClurkin hired Corletto as his personal assistant a year later.
“I truly did believe he was fully delivered from homosexuality,” Corletto told NBC. “I was doing whatever they were saying to rid myself of it.”
Like Elisha and Elijah, pastor says
But during their prayer sessions, McClurkin allegedly groped Corletto, according to the lawsuit. The pastor allegedly later “tested” Corletto’s sexuality by sending a male model to try and seduce him.
In 2007, the situation escalated when McClurkin reportedly raped Corletto during a business trip, the lawsuit claims.
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When Corletto confronted McClurkin about the incident, the pastor reportedly claimed he was on medication and didn’t remember anything.
“McClurkin further manipulated (Corletto), blaming him for the incident and convincing him that he was the sole culpable party,” the lawsuit says. “As a result, plaintiff experienced intense shame and confusion.”
McClurkin allegedly raped Corletto multiple times over the next two years while on trips to Atlantic City, N.J., and Manhattan, as well as at his home on Long Island.
“Throughout this period, plaintiff attempted to quit on multiple occasions,” according to the complaint. “Defendant, however, denied plaintiff’s requests, further coercing him to stay by telling plaintiff that his ‘deliverance’ and ‘purpose’ were tied to defendant.”
Corletto told NBC that the pastor compared their relationship to that of Elisha and Elijah. “There was a lot of biblical manipulation,” Corletto said. “I was brainwashed to think that my deliverance was wrapped up in him.”
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses McClurkin of abusing Corletto at Perfecting Faith Church.
The pastor allegedly “secretly groped” Corletto before preaching, which caused Corletto to cry during the service. McClurkin then used his tears to “encourage other congregants to openly express emotion,” the lawsuit said.
A revealing email
Corletto finally broke away in 2008, but McClurkin continued to pursue him and force himself on the younger man, according to lawsuit. He allegedly raped Corletto in 2012 in a Florida hotel room, as well as in Boston and Niagara Falls in 2013.
Following the alleged sexual assault at Niagara Falls, McClurkin reportedly wrote Corletto an email apologizing for his actions. The lawsuit includes an image of what appears to be an email from McClurkin.
“I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man,’” the email reportedly said. “Groping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close plutonic (sic) relationship with someone he looks to for help, guidance and spirituality.”
The email adds, “You don’t have that desire for me and I shouldn’t have it for you. I forced myself on you.”
The last alleged assault occurred in 2015, when Corletto sought McClurkin during mental health struggles.
Corletto told NBC he came across the Niagara Falls email just last year and remembered what it said. He was relieved. “I didn’t make this up. I wasn’t crazy,” Corletto said. “I felt vindicated in some ways … He’s literally admitting to his guilt.”
Corletto is seeking financial damages of an unspecified amount. McClurkin is required to reply to the lawsuit within the month.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for El Informe Roys, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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7 Responses
Here we go again. A famous, well-known, very gifted prominent person in the ministry falls, because of sexual attraction that is ungodly. My heart breaks for the victim, because again, grooming and abuse was involved. I pray God will heal the victim. I have no mercy for Donnie. He was never really healed, in my opinion, or he would have maintained his purity. Have these people no conscience? How can a man preach, pray, and sing for our Precious Lord Jesus Christ without conviction?
I just read on the internet Donnie has a son named Matthew and an adopted daughter. No wives. Once was engaged to Nicole Mullins, but they broke up before the marriage. Guess he was promiscuous early on in his career.
I devastated that this famous person has been doing this. I feel for the victim but he had courage to come forward and call out what was done to him. This is sick what had happen. May God have Mercy on Donnie . This is the reason I have not come to any church right now we don’t know who to trust. Thank God is bringing all of this out of the darkness. Good reporting but great sadness for the victim.
I pray there will be no victim shame or blame as a result of this pastor’s sin. Too many of these individuals are living out their sickness and sin inside the church. I can totally understand why it would make someone question whether or not any church is safe.
I have great sympathy for victims of any crime. Unfortunately we are not taught from infancy that offence (abuse) is to be expected, and “here is how to deal with it.”
Equally unfortunately, when a victim returns to the scene of the crime and suffers again (and again and again) they become complicit in the offence. There is a spiritual reason for this, which needs to be dealt with, which needs to be taught so that people can be easily set free.
Proverbs says to run (or flee) from such things, while Deuteronomy 22 shows that a victim who does not cry out becomes equally responsible.
God has given us all the clues we need to deal with this sort of stuff. No one needs to stay stuck in any situation – God always has a way out. However, doing things in God’s way does not always seem to be very high on many lists these days…
It’s a shame that God has to use flawed people to get things done.
We become flawed through not correctly dealing with major issues as they occur. There is a major spirit involved in any sort of abuse, and unless the victim deals effectively with that spirit which comes upon them, they frequently either find themselves committing the same sort of offences that were perpetrated on them, or becoming victims over and over again.
It’s a shame that much of the church is not really teaching and practising in this area.
A story of two grown men, each claiming they were powerless to stop a behavior because of their past, or lack of strength. Through the timeline of this story, God was offering both of these men a way out. Each could have fled from the situation. Both chose to be powerless. Our society overuses victimhood, here is one case. God offers better, he does not want any to be stuck. He offers power to lee, repent and overcome. He offers truly new lives, but one has to actually take it.