"The alleged victim, Giuseppe Corletto, was 21 when he met McClurkin (who is now 66) at his Long Island church in 2004. Corletto said he felt drawn to the charismatic preacher and singer after reading his memoir, Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor, which described how God helped him overcome the "curse" of homosexuality. McClurkin "talked about being raped as a child, which resonated with me because that's similar to my story," Corletto told ."
"McClurkin gained greater national notoriety when, in 2007, the campaign of then-candidate Barack Obama included McClurkin in a "Gospel Tour" in South Carolina to appeal to Black evangelical voters. After LGBTQ+ activists complained about McClurkin's anti-LGBTQ+ views, Obama admitted that the singer hadn't been vetted as much as he would've liked; the campaign added an out gay pastor on the tour in response to criticisms."
"McClurkin and Corletto met after an unrelated church event, and Corletto says McClurkin took an immediate interest in him. The singer hired him as his assistant. "At first, it was all very innocent and what I thought [was] mentoring," Corletto said in the interview. McClurkin began to molest Corletto during "pray the gay away" spiritual sessions, the lawsuit says. The abuse escalated over several years. During a trip to Niagara Falls in 2013, Corletto says he was raped."
Donnie McClurkin, a Grammy-winning gospel singer and pastor who has publicly identified as ex-gay, is accused in a Manhattan lawsuit of raping his male assistant, Giuseppe Corletto. Corletto met McClurkin at his Long Island church in 2004 when he was 21 and said he was drawn to McClurkin after reading his memoir. McClurkin allegedly groomed Corletto, hiring him as an assistant and conducting "pray the gay away" spiritual sessions during which molestation began and escalated. The complaint alleges a rape during a 2013 trip to Niagara Falls and notes an earlier apology email from McClurkin.
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