*West Angeles Church of God in Christ (COGIC) pastor Bishop Charles Blake has apparently been vindicated of rape allegations against him by the alleged victim himself.
A press release sent to EURweb from TRY Williams Consulting Group reveals that Minister Sidney Lassiter III and his father, Elder Sidney Lassiter II, posted a YouTube video, titled “Bishop Charles Blake DID NOT MOLEST ME! (scroll down to watch) Earl Carter STOP defaming my family,” that proclaimed Blake’s innocence.
“In the video, Lassiter III and Lassiter II state that Bishop Blake did not molest Lassiter III as alleged by Carter,” the release stated. “ Although the video does share that Lassiter III was molested by a minister in Virginia, at 14 years old, the pedophile was not Bishop Blake. They also state that Lassiter III did not have occasion to meet Bishop Blake until he was 19 years old, while he was visiting California. The senior Lassiter, further stated that he contacted Earl Carter and informed his wife, Beverly Carter, that the allegations where “100% false,” but Earl Carter continued his defamatory conduct against Bishop Blake and the Lassiter family by posting subsequent videos.
“Minister Sidney Lassiter III, Elder Sidney Lassiter II and Pastor Bethaline Chapman (Sidney Lassiter III’s mother) signed legal declarations noting, in relevant part, that Blake did not molest or in any way inappropriately touch Lassiter III.
The Lassiters’ video comes in response to a YouTube video posted by Minister Earl Carter. In his video Carter named and pictured Lassiter III “as a victim of molestation at the hands of Bishop Charles Blake.”
The following are the declarations made by the Lassiter II and Chapman:
“In truth, however, I have never been raped, molested, inappropriately touched or otherwise mistreated in any manner by Bishop Blake; I have never told any other person that such misconduct occurred. Indeed, in my entire life, I have only met Bishop Blake on five or six occasions; those encounters always occurred in a public setting. All of my meetings with Bishop Blake occurred after the year 2001 when I was 18 years old, and not when I was 14 years old (as Mr. Carter has repeatedly claimed) or at any other time during my non-adult teenage years. “ – Minister Sidney Lassiter II
READ RELATED STORY: Messy! COGIC Head Denies Pastor’s Gay and a Pedophile Accusations (VIDEO)
“The maliciously false statements about Bishop Blake contained in the March 23 and March 29 videos have caused, and are continuing to cause, a great deal of unwarranted stress and undue hardship to me, my son and former husband, Elder Sidney H. Lassiter II.” – Pastor Bethaline Chapman
“At no time has my son ever told me that he had been molested, inappropriately touched or otherwise mistreated in any manner by Bishop Blake; I have never told any other person that such misconduct occurred.” – Elder Sidney Lassiter II
At this time, Blake’s defamation lawsuit against Carter remains before the court.
According to the release, the suit filed on Dec. 11, 2015, in Orlando, Florida, notes the following:
“Over the past several months, Mr. Carter has engaged, and is threatening to continue engaging, in outrageous and malicious attacks upon Bishop Blake that should be punished to the maximum extent under the law. Mr. Carter has viciously used the Internet to falsely profess to the world that, among other things, Bishop Blake is immoral, homosexual and a pedophile. Mr. Carter’s goals are to destroy Bishop Blake’s stellar reputation, interfere with his relationship with Church Of God In Christ, Inc. (“COGIC”), and drive visitors to Mr. Carter’s websites where he seeks to illegally profit off of Bishop Blake’s good name.”
Despite the drama from the rape allegations and Carter’s video, Blake has received backing from “many respected preachers” who submitted “letters of support” for him as support from “ministers who were mentioned in Carter’s videos.”
Touching on Carter, the release cited Blake’s complaint, which stated the following:
“In the Flyer and YouTube videos, Mr. Carter has falsely attributed various untrue and defamatory statements about Bishop Blake to certain individuals who categorically deny that any of those allegations are true, while others have no first-hand knowledge of the untruths Mr. Carter asserts to be factual…”
“Mr. Carter’s purposeful and continual attempts to defame Bishop Blake are egregious. The filing of the defamation lawsuit was Bishop Blake’s only recourse to stop Mr. Carter’s harmful conduct and force the removal of defamatory videos from the Internet,” said Uleses Henderson, General Counsel, Church of God in Christ.
To read the letters of support for Blake, click here.
https://youtu.be/Rg-8DEx-c-w
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