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Bishop Darius Pridgen, a parishioner at Buffalo’s True Bethel Baptist Church, has been accused of s*xual assault. A lawsuit has been filed against Pridgen by a woman who claimed she was s*xually abused by Darius Pridgen in 2020 when she was 45 years old.
The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, reportedly was a volunteer and a member of the church. While the woman claimed that she was a member of the church, Darius Pridgen refuted it and said that, according to him, she never was a part of the church.
Trigger warning: The article contains references to s*xual abuse and assault. Readers’ discretion is advised.
According to the plaintiff, the church authorities failed to remove Darius Pridgen from his position. The victim also described Pridgen as a “dangerous predator” who should have been kept away. The victim reportedly requested Pridgen to stop assaulting her. However, he allegedly continued to do the same.
The woman later denied all allegations against Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen
According to the woman, Pridgen got involved in “unpermitted s*xual conduct” on about seven occasions. She further stated that she “pleaded with Bishop Pridgen to leave her alone, but he continued to s*xually abuse her.” Curis Law, a law firm representing the woman, released a statement:
“As alleged in the complaint, my client was subjected to prolific abuse that has altered her life forever. This lawsuit is the first step toward healing and justice, and we are thankful for the Adult Survivors Act.”
On Wednesday, July 19, Pridgen said he learned about the lawsuit from the media and has not been served with it. He further said he did not even recognize the victim. He claimed that the victim has possibly never volunteered in the church.
“She is definitely not a member of True Bethel, and from my knowledge has never volunteered at True Bethel. During most of this period, I was seriously ill, and the church was not in session physically due to Covid,” he said.
He described the accusations to be “unfortunate” and “baseless.”
“I don’t have the slightest idea who the accuser is. It’s mind-blowing for anybody to be wrongfully accused like that, but it’s a part of public life sometimes. It is very difficult. I think it’s a nightmare and I want to wake up,” he said.
On March 29, 2020, Darius Pridgen was the first local who announced that he contracted Covid. Several churches, including True Bethel, were streaming their services online.
The accuser claimed that the assaults occurred within the church premises on at least seven occasions. According to the lawsuit against Pridgen, he allegedly forced the victim to mast**bate him and touched her inappropriately without her consent.
The lawsuit further claimed that the church officials failed to remove the bishop from his position. It further mentioned that the victim had to go through immense mental distress due to the alleged s*xual assault by Darius Pridgen.
Despite the accusations, the woman, as per News 4, later recanted her story. She claimed that the incident never happened and that she never spoke about it to her attorney.
