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Another alleged victim accuses local pastor of sexual assault

PITTSBURGH — New charges have been filed against a pastor already accused of sexually assaulting a young man.

The Rev. Bishop Duane Youngblood, the founder of the Higher Call World Outreach Center in Homestead, is facing new charges Monday after a new accuser came forward.

Channel 11’s Jennifer Tomazic reported two young men who went to Youngblood for counseling have accused him of assault.

The newest accuser told detectives Youngblood touched him inappropriately in 1998 when he was 17 and 18 years old.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police he let some of the sexual acts happen because Youngblood was very convincing and he thought he could be punished by God.

Youngblood’s attorney Milton Raiford told Channel 11 News he wants to hear more in court.

“These are weighty accusations. We have to mak4e sure the evidence goes along with them,” Raiford said. “I believe the system will work itself out. So we might get to the truth of what really happened.”

The first case against Youngblood was filed in early July when a now-21-year-old man said Youngblood touched him during counseling sessions when he was 16.

Raiford said he’ll go forward with the preliminary hearing Aug. 20 because he wants the alleged victim’s testimony to go on the record.

“We’ll get an opportunity to go face-to-face with the accuser and ask him face-to-face exactly what happened or what didn’t happen,” Raiford said.

Youngblood is a register sex offender because he plead guilty to sexual assault after an incident involving a 15-year-old boy who had come to him for counseling.

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