allegation

Donnie McClurkin, the Grammy-winning gospel singer and minister who has publicly denounced homosexuality, has been sued for sexually abusing his former male personal assistant.

McClurkin, 66, faces allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery and more in the civil lawsuit filed Friday in New York County Supreme Court. The singer’s accuser, identified in court documents as Giuseppe Corletto, accuses McClurkin of sexually assaulting him numerous times from the start of his employment in 2004 to 2015. The complaint also includes an alleged email from the singer, in which he apologizes for his actions and writes, “I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man.’”

A legal representative for McClurkin denied the allegations as “categorically false.”

“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” McClurkin attorney Gregory S. Lisi said in a statement shared Tuesday. “The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over 2 decades, ago. All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”

Lisi added: “Pastor McClurkin denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend against this lawsuit through the appropriate legal process. As this is now active litigation, Pastor McClurkin will not be commenting further at this time.”

The lawsuit claims Corletto was 21 years old and struggling with his sexuality when he met McClurkin, known for songs “I Call You Faithful” and “Wait on the Lord,” in August 2003. Corletto attended a reading for McClurkin’s 2001 book “Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor,” centered on the singer’s experience of “being delivered on homosexuality,” and met the singer, according to court documents. Corletto sought guidance from the Grammy winner, who hired him as a personal assistant.

The two men developed a mentor-mentee relationship and engaged in “pray the gay away” spiritual sessions “during which Defendant McClurkin groped Plaintiff’s genitals” without consent, according to the lawsuit. McClurkin had also allegedly “set up scenarios” between Corletto and other men and framed them as “tests from God.”

In 2007, Corletto and his girlfriend traveled with McClurkin and the singer’s family to California, where the artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in a hotel room. The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin exposed himself to Corletto before pulling him onto a bed, forcefully kissing and grabbing his body and forcing Corletto to engage in anal sex. When Corletto confronted his boss about the alleged assault, McClurkin allegedly said he had no recollection and blamed Corletto’s behavior on medication. The singer “further manipulated Plaintiff, blaming him for the incident and convincing him that he was the sole culpable party,” confusing Corletto, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin “exploited this tactic repeatedly, coercing Plaintiff into further unwanted sexual acts over the next six years,” including numerous alleged incidents while he was working at McClurkin’s church. The complaint details additional accounts of alleged sexual assault from 2007 to 2008.

Corletto had attempted to stop working for McClurkin multiple times, the lawsuit said, but the singer refused, telling his assistant “that his ‘deliverance’ and ‘purpose’ were tied” to him. The complaint adds that Corletto told several church staff members of the alleged sexual assault, but that “no action was taken.” Corletto stopped working for McClurkin in 2008, but continued running into the singer in the following years, the lawsuit said.

The “Again” artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in 2012 in Orlando, where the latter was training for an airline job. McClurkin learned of his former employee’s location through one of Corletto’s friends and appeared at his hotel room. The lawsuit alleged McClurkin said he needed to talk to Corletto, who “reluctantly agreed to let” the singer into his room. Inside the hotel room, McClurkin allegedly “begged Plaintiff to have sex with him ‘one last time,’” but Corletto refused. Corletto alleges he woke up to find McClurkin masturbating and touching his body before the singer “forced himself again onto Corletto” and raped his former employee, the lawsuit says.

Corletto returned to McClurkin’s church in the summer of 2013 and joined the singer during a trip to Niagara Falls. McClurkin allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto again and days later sent an email apologizing for his actions, a screenshot included in the lawsuit shows. In addition to likening himself to a “desperate dirty ‘old man,’” per the lawsuit, McClurkin allegedly wrote to Corletto, “I forced myself on you … groping you … and when I think about it … you never touched me like that at all.” McClurkin also allegedly promised to be a friend and pastor to Corletto.

Two years after McClurkin sent the alleged email, Corletto returned to the singer’s church amid his struggles with mental health. The lawsuit claims McClurkin engaged in further sexual misconduct, “taking advantage of Plaintiff’s vulnerability and current fragile mental state.”

Corletto “sustained injury, emotional distress, physical pain, emotional pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life” as a result of the sexual assault, the complaint said. He seeks a jury trial, an unspecified amount in compensatory damages, legal fees and additional damages.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery at a court hearing Tuesday. The alleged victim in the Dec. 2 incident was his private chef, according to a report taken by police in Dedham, Mass.

Through his attorney, Diggs has denied the allegations. The name of the woman was redacted from the police report.

The chef reported the incident Dec. 16, telling police that she and Diggs had a dispute over pay after he told her via text that her services weren’t needed the week of Nov. 7 and she replied that she should be paid for the week.

The woman told police that Diggs entered her unlocked bedroom in his house and “smacked her across the face.” She tried to push him away and he “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”

She said that she had trouble breathing and felt like she could have blacked out. “As she tried to pry his arm away, he tightened his grip,” she told police.

The woman told police she had redness on her upper chest area after the incident occurred but did not take photos. She returned to Diggs’ house Dec. 9 to retrieve personal belongings and he instructed her to speak with his assistant about getting paid, she told police. The assistant told her Diggs had requested she sign a non-disclosure agreement, but she refused.

Diggs’ girlfriend is rapper Cardi B, who gave birth to their son in November. Cardi B, born Belcalis Almánzar, is not mentioned by name in the police report, although the woman told police Dec. 20 that a few days earlier “she received a voice mail and text messages from a female that she believed to be Diggs girlfriend. Based on these messages, [the alleged victim] believed that Diggs somehow knew the police were contacted. The messages stated something to the effect of ‘You don’t need to do all this. It’s not that big of a deal.’”

The woman, who had worked as Diggs’ private chef since July, initially did not want the police to file charges against the two-time All-Pro receiver but changed her mind Dec. 23.

Diggs’ lawyer David Meier said in a statement that his client “categorically denies these allegations. They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur.

“The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law.”

Meier also said Diggs has made a financial offer to the woman, telling the judge at the hearing Tuesday, “As we speak, they’re working to come to an agreement on that.”

According to the police report, Diggs did not return calls from investigators and the criminal complaint was “based on [the alleged victim’s] statement.”

Diggs, 32, has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since beginning his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. He ranks fifth among active players with 939 career receptions, including 82 this season for 970 yards.

This is his first season with the Patriots, who have clinched the AFC East title and will begin the playoffs with a wild card home game the weekend of Jan. 10. Diggs is in the first year of a three-year, $69-million contract.

“We support Stefon,” the Patriots said in a statement. “We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary. Out of respect for all parties involved, and given that this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Diggs’ arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 23. Meier asked the judge Tuesday that the proceeding be delayed until March but no ruling was made.

California joined 21 other states and the District of Columbia Monday in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from being defunded and closed by the Trump administration.

The legal action filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore. accuses Acting Director Russell Vought of trying to illegally withhold funds from the agency by unlawfully interpreting its funding statute. Also named as defendants are the agency itself and the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

“For California, the CFPB has been an invaluable enforcement partner, working hand-in-hand with our office to protect pocketbooks and stop unfair business practices. But once again, the Trump administration is trying to weaken and ultimately dismantle the CFPB,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, in a press conference to announce the 41-page legal action.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Established by Congress in 2010 after the subprime mortgage abuses that gave rise to the financial crisis, the agency is funded by the Federal Reserve as a method of insulating it from political pressure.

The Dodd-Frank Act statute requires the agency’s director to petition for a reasonable amount of funding to carry out the CFPB’s duties from the “combined earnings” of the Federal Reserve System.

Prior to this year that was interpreted to mean the Federal Reserve’s gross revenue. But an opinion from the Department of Justice claims that should be interpreted to mean the Federal Reserve’s profits, of which it has none since it has been operating at a loss since 2022. The lawsuit alleges the interpretation is bogus.

“Defendant Russell T. Vought has worked tirelessly to terminate the CFPB’s operations by any means necessary — denying Plaintiffs access to CFPB resources to which they are statutorily entitled. In this action, Plaintiffs challenge Defendant Vought’s most recent effort to do so,” the federal lawsuit states.

The complaint alleges the agency will run out of cash by next month if the policy is not reversed. Bonta said he and other attorney generals have not decided whether they will seek a restraining order or temporary injunction to change the new funding policy.

Prior to the second Trump administraition, the CPFB boasted of returning nearly $21 billion to consumers nationwide through enforcement actions, including against Wells Fargo in San Francisco over a scandal involving the creation of accounts never sought by customers.

Other big cases have been brought against student loan servicer Navient for mishandling payments and other issues, as well as Toyota Motor Credit for charging higher interest rates to Black and Asian customers.

However, this year the agency has dropped notable cases. It terminated early a consent order reached with Citibank over allegations it discriminated against customers with Armenian surnames in Los Angeles County.

It also dropped a lawsuit against Zelle that accused Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and other banks of rushing the payments app into service, leading to $870 million in fraud-related losses by users. The app denied the allegations.

Monday’s lawsuit also notes that the agency is critical for states to carry out their own consumer protection mission and its closure would deprive them of their statutorily guaranteed access to a database run by the CFPB that tracks millions of consumer complaints, as well as to other data.

Vought was a chief architect of Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation blueprint to reduce the size and power of the federal bureaucracy during a second Trump admistration. In February, he ordered the agency to stop nearly all its work and has been seeking to drastically downsize it since.

The lawsuit filed Monday is the latest legal effort to keep the agency in business.

A lawsuit filed in February by National Treasury Employees Union and consumer groups accuses the Trump administration and Vought of attempting to unconstitutionally abolish the agency, created by an act of Congress.

“It is deflating, and it is unfortunate that Congress is not defending the power of the purse,” said Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser, during Monday’s press conference.

“At other times, Congress vigilantly safeguarded its authority, but because of political polarization and fear of criticizing this President, the Congress is not doing it,” he said.