Second minister accuses T.D. Jakes of sexual misconduct in defamation suit filing

(RNS) — The Rev. Richard Edwin Youngblood, the brother of a minister who has accused Bishop T.D. Jakes of sexual misconduct, has made his own accusation against Jakes, claiming the Texas megachurch leader climbed into bed with him on a church business trip.

The claims were made in a legal filing responding to a defamation lawsuit Jakes brought in November against Youngblood’s younger brother, Duane Youngblood, a Pennsylvania man who made allegations against Jakes in two 2024 interviews on the “Larry Reid Live” YouTube talk show.

Jakes’ suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, includes denials by Jakes’ legal team of Duane Youngblood’s accusations that Jakes tried to groom and sexually abuse him. The suit also describes the younger Youngblood as being a parolee after convictions for sexual assault and corruption of minors.

Duane Youngblood has sought a court’s dismissal of Jakes’ suit. In January, his lawyer, Tyrone A. Blackburn, filed a special motion to dismiss the suit, citing a Pennsylvania law that aims to limit lawsuits targeting public expression that is protected speech.

“This lawsuit is a textbook example of a powerful entity attempting to silence a survivor of alleged clergy abuse,” Blackburn told RNS in an email message. “The court must weigh not only the legal arguments but also the broader implications this case has for free speech, survivor advocacy, and institutional accountability.”

Richard Youngblood was among six people who signed sworn affidavits included in the January filing that testified that they had heard Duane Youngblood describe the alleged misconduct by Jakes.

Larry Reid, left, interviews Duane Youngblood on the “Larry Reid Live” YouTube talk show on Nov. 3, 2024. (Video screen grab)

Richard Youngblood, in addition to confirming his brother’s description, said that around the spring of 1986, when he was a young minister seeking a mentor, he heard Jakes preach at a Pennsylvania church. Youngblood offered to drive Jakes to his native West Virginia, where Jakes, then in his late 20s, was still the pastor of his first church.

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Richard Youngblood eventually moved his family to West Virginia to work as an assistant and praise and worship leader in Jakes’ church. The younger minister said “things started to become weird” within a couple of years, with Jakes starting to discuss “uncomfortable things,” including oral sex. Richard Youngblood said he drove them on a trip, where Jakes rented a hotel room one night for them with two beds.

“That night, while I was laying in my bed, I felt Elder Jakes climb into my bed. He pressed his body against mine and asked, ‘Youngblood, do you feel that?’” reads the statement, signed in December 2024. “He was referencing his erection that he was pressing against my back side.”

Richard Youngblood said he got out of the bed and Jakes “started trying to kiss me.”

Jakes berated him when he learned Youngblood had described the alleged incident to an elder at Jakes’ church. He said Jakes called Richard Youngblood’s wife, informed her that her husband was a liar and said she was welcome in the church but her husband was not. Youngblood’s affidavit describes “mental and spiritual anguish” after the alleged encounters with Jakes.

Duane Youngblood’s affidavit describes as a teenager having a long conversation with Jakes at the private home where the elder minister was staying. “As I prepared to leave, he pulled me close and tried to kiss me,” said the affidavit. Youngblood said Jakes called him the next morning and “told me he wanted me to be the only person he had a sexual relationship with when he came to town.”

Duane Youngblood’s filings include a statement from a licensed professional counselor saying: “Recent events have further exacerbated Mr. Youngblood’s trauma,” citing a “message perceived as carrying a direct threat of harm, from Jermaine Jakes, the son of Bishop T.D. Jakes.”

The legal filings include an image of a Nov. 3 text message from Jermaine Jakes stating: “You might be in dangerous territory Duane… just b careful…” The filings also include a copy of an incident report stating that Duane Youngblood filed a complaint with a local police station later that month saying the text message was verbal harassment by the younger Jakes.

Jakes’ legal team and communications director did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the motion to dismiss and the claims of the Youngbloods about T.D. and Jermaine Jakes.

T.D. Jakes’ suit linked the accusations against him to his health and the court action was filed the day after he had an unspecified medical incident in front of the congregation attending the Nov. 24 service at The Potter’s House in Dallas. “Youngblood’s intentional and malicious lies have taken a substantial emotional and physical toll on Bishop Jakes,” the suit reads.

Jakes made his first in-person appearance at the church after the incident on New Year’s Eve.

Blackburn, Duane Youngblood’s lawyer, told RNS his client is seeking to protect himself as well as others who wish to highlight instances of abuse in religious circles.

“The motion to dismiss was filed to protect my client’s constitutional right to free speech and to challenge what we believe is a meritless lawsuit aimed at suppressing a critical public discourse,” he said. “This case is not only about Mr. Youngblood’s personal experiences but also about systemic issues of abuse within religious institutions that have remained unaddressed for too long.”

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