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	Jackson Pastor Accused of Forcing Sex By Jimmie E. Gates The Clarion-Ledger November 26, 2010 http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101126/NEWS/11260340/Pastor-accused-of-forcing-sex A pastor who founded a Jackson church is accused in a lawsuit of coercing a young adult male church member into a sexual relationship while serving as his spiritual adviser and bishop. The claims in the lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit are similar to allegations leveled against Atlanta mega-church pastor Bishop Eddie Long by four young men. The local lawsuit was filed against Kevin Joseph Boyd Sr., senior pastor of The Apostolic Church, 1735 Shady Lane Drive, late last month. Boyd also operates a church in New Orleans. "Defendant Boyd has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as bishop over them to ultimately bring them to a point of engaging in a sexual relationship," according to the lawsuit. Boyd hasn't responded to calls left at the Jackson church and at his New Orleans home for comments about the lawsuit. Boyd and wife Karla are listed in court papers as having been served with the lawsuit, which represents one side of a legal argument, on Nov. 8. They have 30 days to respond. No attorney is listed yet for Boyd in court documents. A female answering the telephone at the New Orleans home Monday said she was aware of the lawsuit and then said, "We have no comment." The plaintiff, now 23 and married, is asking a jury to decide on damages on claims, including breach of fiduciary duties, fraud and negligence. Though the plaintiff is named in the suit, The Clarion-Ledger does not identify those alleging sexual abuse. The male church member sang in the choir and played drums, according to the lawsuit. At Boyd's request, he said he would go to the pastor's office on Sundays after church. "Defendant Boyd would discuss the holy scripture to justify and support the sexual activity," the lawsuit says. The plaintiff alleges that the sexual relationship escalated from touching and occurred off church grounds, including at a local motel. Boyd allegedly would travel to Jackson "to engage in sexual relations" with the plaintiff. "He would contact plaintiff and inform him that he would be in town and for him not to let anyone know." By 2009, the plaintiff said he started to distance himself from Boyd and became engaged to the woman who is now his wife. In June this year, the plaintiff informed a senior pastor of the church of Boyd's alleged sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiff's attorney, Winston Thompson, said his client's interaction with Boyd began at age 12 in New Orleans, where both were living. Both ended up in Jackson after Hurricane Katrina. The size of Boyd's church was unavailable, but individuals who have visited it say its congregation is not large. A MySpace page about the church says it officially opened on Nov. 19, 2006 and was founded by "the Presiding Prelate of The Church of the Apostolic Faith International Incorporated and pastor of The Apostolic Church At New Orleans, Kevin J . Boyd Sr." Contact: jgates@clarionledger.com
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