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By Mona Austin
On Tuesday, March 11, Bishop Thomas Weeks III entered a guilty plea for aggravated assault against his estranged wife, Prophetess Juanita Bynum supposedly bringing an end to a vicious battle in the media.
The saga continues with the post-hearing revelation that the plea was entered as a legal technicality.
Two days later his PR rep says the plea was cajoled to prevent the case from going to trial and released the following statement to explain the statement of guilt:
"I am glad that this is finally over and healing can begin. I first would like to thank all of those who have stood by me, offering their support during this very difficult time. In regard to my decision to plead guilty, I must state that this was a difficult place to arrive to, understanding the connotation that a guilty plea carries. My preference would have been, no contest.
I do now and have always maintained that I did not hit my wife. I have however, always admitted that I did push her. The state of Georgia determines that a push, if it causes physical harm, is still considered assault and carries a possible penalty of 3-5 years minimum. I believed that it was in my best interest and to both of our ministries, to avoid a very public, trial that I plea the way that I did.
In addition, Juanita reached out to me the night before and asked that I not take this to trial. In respect to the law and her request, here we are today. In response to the reports that we are in the process of reconciling [sic]. That is untrue. There is no reconciliation [sic] on the horizon. I hope her the best in the future. My details concerning this journey are further clarified in the book What Love Taught Me." -- Bishop Thomas Weeks, III
Weeks and Bynum faced the Fulton County Superior court Tuesday for the highly publicized confrontation in the parking lot of Atlanta's Renaissance Concourse Hotel last August 21. Bynum, 49, a popular televangelist and gospel-recording artist claimed her husband stomped, kicked and choked her. Weeks, 40, previously maintained his innocence throughout the 6-month media charade, which most recently spawned an online book entitled "What Love Taught Me."
Weeks, the pastor of Duluth Georgia based Global Destinies Ministries, received no jail time when Judge T. Jackson Bedford handed down a sentence. Instead he is subjected to 3 years of probation, 200 hours of non-church related community service and anger management counseling reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The conviction will be expunged from his record if he fulfills the sentence.
Weeks apologized to Bynum before the court.
"I want to apologize to my wife for all actions you had to go through," Weeks said. "I know it has been difficult. I appreciate you and I thank you."
"My emotions got the best of me," Weeks said of the Aug. 21 incident.
The paper goes on to report that Bynum said seeing her husband on Monday at a divorce deposition brought back old memories. She appealed to the court to be lenient on him.
"When I saw him it allowed me to reflect on the first time we got married," she said. "No one tells you what to do with all of the love you feel for the person."
The judge chided both parties to be mindful of their future conduct because of their moral and spiritual influence over millions of people.
"I'm very pleased this was able to be worked out." Bedford added, "Neither of you needed to be exposed to what would have happened in the courtroom. I wish you the very best."
After their time in court, the couple faced the media together in a press conference.
Weeks appeared on Atlanta's Fox 5 news Thursday to further explaining his reasons for the guilty plea, including some emotional text messages said to be from Bynum.
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