A lawsuit has been filed against Grammy-winning gospel singer and pastor Donnie McClurkin by a man who alleged that the gospel singer assaulted him for years.
Giuseppe Corletto claimed in a lawsuit filed on Friday, Jan. 2, in New York County Supreme Court and obtained by PEOPLE that the singer and pastor, 66, sexually abused him for several years after their first meeting in 2003.
McClurkin’s attorney, Greg Lisi, told PEOPLE in a statement that the claims made in the lawsuit were “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.”