TUNE IN: TJMS Talks with Juanita Bynum Wednesday, September 12.
ATLANTA - (AP) A minister accused of attacking his televangelist wife in a hotel parking lot will contest her petition for divorce, his lawyers said Tuesday.
Randy Kessler, one of the attorneys representing Thomas W. Weeks III, said they are considering whether the counterclaim will accuse Juanita Bynum of cruel treatment, the charge her divorce petition levels at Weeks.
"Cruel treatment is a very vague legal term," Kessler said. "There's a possibility that there's cruel treatment on both sides, but we're not committed to that position."
Kessler and Louis Tesser, who is also representing Weeks, are family law attorneys with the Atlanta-based firm Kessler, Schwarz and Solomiany, who have litigated high-profile cases against boxer Evander Holyfield, former Atlanta Falcon Andre Rison, Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys and attorney Willie Gary.
The divorce petition was filed Monday in Ware County, where Bynum has a home, less than three weeks after Bynum accused Weeks of choking, pushing and stomping her in a hotel parking lot in an incident that began the night of Aug. 21 and continued into the next morning. Weeks, known to his followers as Bishop Weeks, was charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats and is not allowed to have contact with Bynum.
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According to the document, Bynum and Weeks were married July 22, 2002, and have been separated since June. They have no children together.
Bynum, 48, cited "cruel treatment" as grounds for divorce, and said the marriage is "irretrievably broken."
Whether Weeks’ attorneys decide to pursue a cruel treatment claim against Bynum is up to him.
“He has to make a decision about whether he wants to do that, especially given that he would still reconcile with her at this point,” said Kessler, who added that Weeks does not consider the marriage “irretrievably broken.”
Kessler and Tesser said they will likely file a response next week.
In a statement issued through his lawyer last Wednesday, Weeks, 40, apologized to all Christians, his church family and others "having to endure this ordeal."
"Because of the method in which this was handled just hours following the situation, it has not only hurt me, but has damaged the reputation of Christians around the world," Weeks said. "It is for this reason that I continue to trust in God while the storm would try to engulf me. Finally, I'm asking every Christian to pray that God's will be done."
In his statement, Weeks, the pastor and co-founder of Global Destiny Ministries, also cautioned against rushing to judgment in the case and said he would give his side of what happened at the appropriate time.
Early last week, the Washington-based National Black Church Initiative called for Weeks to be suspended for three years from the ministry because of allegations he beat his wife.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBCI is asking its 16,000 member churches and their congregants to refuse to support Weeks' ministry or recognize him as ordained clergy.
"We're not just going to tolerate this kind of behavior," the Rev. Vincent Evans told newspaper. "He has hurt the cause of Christ."
The coalition, which works to address racial health disparities and problems in black families, sees Weeks' alleged actions as "morally wrong and reprehensible." Domestic violence, the group said, is a root cause of the failure of black families and marriages.
Karla Walker, Bynum's divorce lawyer, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday, but she said Monday that Bynum "loved her husband. But she does feel it is necessary to stop the domestic violence and go on with the divorce."
Bynum has accused Weeks, 40, of choking, pushing and stomping her in a hotel parking lot in an incident that began the night of Aug. 21 and continued into the next morning.
Weeks, who is known to his followers as Bishop Weeks, was charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats and isn't allowed to have contact with Bynum.
Bynum’s publicist, Amy Malone, said in a statement e-mailed to Associated Press on Sunday that Bynum never struck Weeks prior to the assault and that she did not physically retaliate during the assault.
“There was nothing done to provoke or warrant the violent act perpetrated against her,” Malone said.
Malone said that Bynum and Weeks have not seen, spoken to, or had any contact with each other since Aug. 22, adding that Bynum has no intentions of reconciling with him.
Bynum is a former hairdresser and flight attendant who became a Pentecostal evangelist, author and gospel singer. Her ministry blossomed after she preached at a singles event about breaking free of sexual promiscuity, and she is known for her intense, no-nonsense style. Her books include "No More Sheets: The Truth About Sex" and "Matters of the Heart."
Her album "A Piece of My Passion" had been listed in the top 10 gospel albums by Billboard magazine for several months. She also preaches through televised sermons.
The couple were married in a million-dollar, televised ceremony. They wrote "Teach Me How to Love You: The Beginnings."
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