GRIFFIN, Ga. — Editor's note: The video in this story is from a previous report.
A Griffin Pastor and his wife filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city – one year after being arrested on false imprisonment charges.
Curtis Bankston and his wife Sophia Bankston are accused of falsely imprisoning members of their church housing ministry. The couple was arrested on Jan. 13, 2022, after allegedly using their house as an unlicensed group home, where at least eight people – ranging in age from 23 to 65 were being kept, and holding them against their will. Most, if not all of the individuals were mentally or physically disabled and could not care for themselves, according to police.
The Bankstons' arrests came days after Griffin firefighters responded to their home for a patient having a seizure. Firefighters found the door to the basement was dead-bolted and they needed to go through a window to reach the patient in the basement. Based on what they saw, the fire department then called Griffin Police, prompting an investigation. The residents were relocated following the couple's arrests.
The Bankstons, who are the founders of One Step of Faith Ministries and One step of Faith 2nd Chance Ministries, previously disputed the allegations with their attorney Dexter Wimbish claiming the reports from police are "fraught with misinformation."
“More than a year has passed and my clients have not seen a judge except to answer a summons to appear in Griffin Municipal Court for failing to properly register a business," Attorney Dexter Wimbish said in a statement. "We were informed last summer that a state investigation was being conducted, but no charges have been officially filed. After the arrest, their mother and her longtime companion were removed from the home and separated. They both died from the heartache of being separated. They just couldn’t stand not being able to be together. These false allegations have destroyed their lives."
A release from their attorney states the Bankstons have yet to be indicted on the charges after a year. The couple previously filed a lawsuit asking for $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit also asks a jury to determine damages for Civil Rights violations, libel slander and attorney fees.
Their lawsuit reads in part, "The statements went viral with more than 10 million views on the internet and painted Rev. Curtis Bankston and Sophia Bankston as monsters who had eight people locked up in a dark basement." You can read the lawsuit in full below.
11Alive has reached out to Griffin Police for an update on their investigation.
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