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Bishop TD Jakes sues Pastor Youngblood over sexual abuse allegations days after medical attack
US televangelist, Bishop T.D. Jakes has filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against a fellow minister, Duane Youngblood, who has accused him of attempted sexual assault.
The suit was filed after Jakes on Sunday suffered a medical attack at his Dallas megachurch.
Duane Youngblood, 57, a Pennsylvania man who Jakes’ suit notes is on parole after felony convictions for sexual assault and corruption of minors, made the allegations in two recent appearances on the “Larry Reid Live” YouTube talk show. “The Abused Become the Abuser” episodes. Youngblood’s claims went viral.
The suit says a lawyer claiming to represent Youngblood sent Jakes a Nov. 15 letter demanding $6 million from Jakes after the episodes aired.
The suit, which includes denials by Jakes’ legal team of Youngblood’s accusations that Jakes tried to groom and sexually abuse him, was filed the day after Jakes was viewed at his Sunday service having an unspecified medical problem.
In the midst of a prayer after preaching at The Potter’s House, Jakes is seen lowering his mic and shaking in the chair where he was seated. About a dozen people ran to his side and congregants stretched out their hands toward him as they began praying for him.
On Wednesday, a video of Jakes appearing to be departing a Dallas medical facility, was posted on social media accounts of The Potter’s House with a statement from him about his plans to rest after an episode that “could’ve been fatal if it weren’t for God’s intervention.”
“Didn’t have to turn out this way. Just grateful. Not afraid to die. Don’t want to hurt my kids and the people who love me, the church who needs me, the world who called me, the God who sent me,” Jakes said in the video.
The legal team for Jakes, 67, an author, evangelist and business executive, told the New York Post earlier that he is recuperating from the weekend medical incident and continuing to undergo testing after experts determined he did not have a stroke.
“At the conclusion of yesterday’s service, after ministering for nearly an hour and a half, Bishop Jakes experienced a moment that brought him face-to-face with his own humanity,” the team said.
“He is doing well and remains under medical supervision. Medical professionals have ruled out a stroke, but continue testing.”
In the Oct. 28 YouTube interview, Youngblood described himself as someone who was recently released from prison after violating his parole and as a person who was abused by other ministers. He alleged that as a teenager he ended a long discussion with Jakes in a private home after Jakes had preached at the church of the homeowner.
“When I started to walk past him, he pulled me to himself, wrapped his arms around me, and tried to kiss me,” Youngblood alleged on the show and was quoted in the lawsuit.
Youngblood claimed Jakes called him the next day, from a bathtub, with a three-point plan.
“He says to me, without any hesitation, ‘There’s three things I need you to do,’” Youngblood alleged on the October show that Jakes told him. “‘The first one is, when I come to Pittsburgh you’re going to be the only person I sleep with. The second one is, you can’t sleep with anybody else because I don’t want to give my wife anything. And thirdly, I will take care of you the rest of your life.’”
Jakes’ lawsuit denies all Youngblood’s accusations and makes a direct link between Jakes’ medical state and Youngblood’s allegations, which Jakes’ suit calls “false and defamatory” and “as damaging and damning as anyone can make about a prominent pastor and spiritual leader.”
“Youngblood’s intentional and malicious lies have taken a substantial emotional and physical toll on Bishop Jakes,”reads the suit. “On November 24—the day before he filed this action—Bishop Jakes suffered a medical crisis on stage in the middle of his Sunday service in front of his entire church.”
The complaint also argues that Youngblood’s accusations create a setback for those with true abuse claims.
“Bishop Jakes believes with all his heart that actual victims of sexual abuse should be treated with the utmost respect, kindness, empathy, and sympathy—and that true perpetrators of such abuse should be held accountable for their actions,” the suit continues. “But that is not the case here.”
The suit also claims Youngblood changed his story about his age when the alleged events occurred, saying in the demand letter that he might have been 17 when on the show he suggested his age would have been 18 or 19.
And the suit describes Youngblood reiterating on a Nov. 3 interview with Reid some allegations he stated days before in the first interview, including that, when he allegedly confronted Jakes years later and asked Jakes the reason for the alleged abuse, “Bishop Jakes told me the reason he did this and said this to me was because his stock was rising and he would have slept with anybody.”
Jakes also has been the subject of allegations of sexual misconduct, including at parties hosted by hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, which have put Jakes in headlines.
News
Experts raise alarm on Shawarma, Cancer, Kidney Disease
Health professionals have warned that regular consumption of shawarma containing high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, seasoning and processed meat may contribute to hypertension, obesity, diabetes and kidney disease.
Excessive salt can raise blood pressure and put additional strain on the kidneys, while high-calorie sauces may contribute to weight gain.
Nutrition experts advised Nigerians to eat shawarma in moderation, use less mayonnaise and other sauces, choose lean grilled meat and add more vegetables. Consumers were also urged to check vendors’ cleanliness and avoid food prepared where ingredients are exposed to flies, dust or poor handling.
A recent report by experts also warned that frequent consumption of Shawarma may increase the risk of other food-borne infections and long-term health problems.
The report contains documented cases of people who suffered vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and weakness after eating shawarma, with some requiring hospital treatment.
According to the report, poor hygiene could allow bacteria and other contaminants into shawarma, causing illnesses including cholera, dysentery, typhoid and salmonellosis.
It also raised concerns about mayonnaise and creamy sauces kept without proper refrigeration and warned that poor storage could encourage bacterial growth and increase the risk of food poisoning.
A study cited in the report found bacterial contamination in ready-to-eat shawarma sold on the streets
Experts also raised concerns about processed meat such as sausage, noting that the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans.
News
Phone communication exposes married woman in the case of Abuja resident who died in a hotel
The mystery surrounding the death of a man whose body was found by the roadside in Abuja has taken a new turn, with police tracing the case through his missing mobile phone to a married woman who allegedly spent time with him at a hotel.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Sanusi, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja, saying investigators arrested Rukayat Muhammed after tracing the deceased’s final communications.
The man was found dead on August 26 along the Kubwa Expressway, near Katampe under the bridge, after his family had earlier reported him missing.
According to the police, the case initially raised suspicion of a possible “one chance” incident. Investigators, however, established that the dead man was the missing person after identifying his remains.
Sanusi said the deceased’s mobile phone was missing and had been switched off. Police investigators subsequently traced his last known communication, leading them to Rukayat, a resident of Garki Area 2.
Investigators reportedly discovered that Rukayat, who is married, was allegedly in a romantic relationship with the deceased. The police said she had saved his contact under the name “Safiyat.”
The CP said the pair had lodged at Good Samaritan Guest House on 2nd Avenue, Gwarinpa, where the man later died.
Sanusi said Rukayat allegedly discovered that the man was no longer breathing but failed to alert the police or hotel management. Instead, she allegedly took his phone and left the hotel.
The case took another turn when hotel management later discovered the man’s body inside the room after attempts to contact the occupants failed.
Rather than reporting the discovery, two hotel staff members, Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus, allegedly removed the body from the room and transported it to the Kubwa Expressway, where they dumped it under the Katampe bridge.
The police said the action was apparently intended to distance the hotel and its management from the death.
Sanusi said detectives were still working to establish exactly how the man died and determine the individual roles of those connected to the incident.
He warned that anyone found to have participated in the death, concealment or abandonment of the body would face prosecution.
The commissioner said the investigation remains ongoing.
News
Enugu State govt suspends monarch for hosting Peter Obi
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
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