A gospel singer and pastor who claimed that God rid him of his homosexuality and once performed for Barack Obama has been accused of sexually abusing a younger man for more than a decade.
Donnie McClurkin, 66, was accused of sexual assault and sexual battery by Giuseppe Corletto, who alleged that the three-time Grammy winner had groped and raped him.
The civil lawsuit was filed January 2 at the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. Corletto is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages and legal fees.
Corletto claimed the gospel singer’s abuse had ramped up over the years, including an allegation of rape in 2013 at a Niagara Falls hotel.
He said McClurkin had ‘admitted to his guilt’ in an email sent after the alleged incident – but that he’d only found the correspondence last year.
‘I know I apologized for my wrong attitude from Wednesday….but I want to apologize for all of my behavior that has been wrong and put you in a wrong place,’ McClurkin said, per the suit cited by NBC News.
McClurkin allegedly added: ‘I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty “old man”, pawning and groping a young man who is just looking for a friendship and close plutonic relationship with someone he wants looks to for help, guidance and spirituality.’
‘I feel so foul… so stupid,’ he wrote.
As the alleged abuse took place, McClurkin’s fame and notoriety only saw an uptick.
In 2007, the pastor and gospel singer appeared at a gospel event organized by then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign.
‘I tell you that God delivered me from homosexuality,’ McClurkin said then.
However, his inclusion was rebuked by gay rights groups – and later denounced by Obama himself.
‘I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights,’ Obama said in 2007, according to CBS News.
He added: ‘And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division.’
McClurkin posted a picture of himself standing next to Barack and Michelle Obama last February.
In 2004, the gospel singer performed at the Republican National Convention. He also sang at the Democratic National Convention in 1992.
In the civil lawsuit, Corletto – then 21 – claimed that he was struggling with his sexuality when he first met McClurkin at his church on Long Island in August 2003.
He was inspired by the pastor’s autobiography, which claimed that God had helped McClurkin overcome the ‘curse’ of being gay.
Upon meeting, McClurkin allegedly assured Corletto that he would ‘help deliver him from homosexuality.’
‘At first it was all very innocent and what I thought [was] mentoring,’ Corletto told NBC News.
He said he started as McClurkin’s assistant in 2004 – and about two years went by until the gospel singer allegedly started groping his genitals during sessions to ‘pray the gay away’.
The abuse escalated to rape in 2007, the lawsuit claimed, when McClurkin allegedly forced himself on Corletto and raped him in a hotel room during a work trip in California.
In the lawsuit, Corletto claimed that McClurkin would ‘secretly grope’ him at his church before going to preach.
This caused Corletto to cry during the service, per the lawsuit, which McClurkin allegedly used ‘encourage other congregants to openly express emotion.’
Corletto repeatedly tried to resign from his job, but was guilted by McClurkin into staying.
‘He would always compare me to people in the Bible like Elisha and Elijah,’ Corletto told NBC News. ‘There was a lot of biblical manipulation.’
He added: ‘I thought I was to blame. I was brainwashed to think that my deliverance was wrapped up in him.’
On Monday, Corletto said his lawsuit had been filed now because ‘the truth has its own timing.’
‘While I cannot discuss the specific details of the ongoing litigation at this time, I am standing firm in my truth and looking forward to the legal process bringing this matter to a just conclusion,’ he said on a public social media profile.
Corletto added that ‘seeking justice is a deeply personal and difficult journey.’
He wrote: ‘For many years, I carried the weight of my experiences in silence, focusing on my mental health and my life.
‘It was only RECENTLY, upon the discovery of specific, documented communications from 2013, that the full scope of the situation became clear and the path to legal accountability became possible.’
Corletto’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said McClurkin ‘took advantage’ of his client, who was ‘confused and had problems accepting his sexuality coupled with his religious beliefs.’
‘It’s really very sad,’ Giuffra told NBC News.
On Wednesday, McClurkin called the sexual abuse accusations ‘contrived and untrue.’
‘I understand the weight of such false claims, especially in our community rooted in faith, trust, and the teachings of Jesus Christ,’ he said. ‘Sexual violence, in any form, is a real and painful reality for many and not to be used frivolously. True Survivors deserve to be heard, protected, and supported!’
He said ‘the truth matters’ and that ‘the truth has not been told’ regarding the allegations.
McClurkin added: ‘This accusation of salacious engagement or ANY misconduct that harmed, exploited or took advantage of anyone and misused my position, leadership, or influence in any way in these false accusations is emphatically untrue.’
The pastor claimed that he had not yet been served with the ‘official legal complaint’ but that he was ‘proactively cooperating fully with the appropriate processes and will vigorously defend to the fullest against this defamatory and baseless lawsuit.’
He asked for his followers to pray for his accuser ‘seriously and sincerely.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Gregory S. Lisi, McClurkin’s attorney, and Giuffra for further comment.
