According to the investigation, Copeland used the alias Brittini Blaire Summerlin to post images of himself on Reddit, Instagram, and other social media sites, wearing lingerie and occasionally his wife’s attire.
“Brittini” identified as a “transitioning transgender curvy girl who enjoys smiling, clothes, and shoes!”
The married father of three is also accused of posting graphic transgender pornography and writing erotica.
1819 News published a story about Copeland’s alter ego on Nov. 1 that included photos and screenshots of his racy online activity.
Copeland apparently told the news outlet that he was the one behind the accounts, which he defined as a “hobby I do to relieve stress.”
He said that his wife was aware of his risqué hobby.
“It is just a bit of a character I am playing,” he said. “I do not go out and seek solicitation or anything like that.”
Copeland described his eroticism as “purely fiction.”
“What I do in private life has nothing to do with what I do in my holy life,” Copeland told the outlet. “Does this have any effect on me being mayor, that I sometimes put on a dress or sometimes put on makeup? Does that have anything to do whatsoever with me being mayor or being a pastor?”
According to the claim, after the interview, he erased the accounts and urged the news site not to publish the screenshots.
He delivered his usual sermon on the same day the exposé was released online.
“I have been the target of an internet attack,” Copeland told parishioners in remarks broadcast live on Facebook. “The article does not represent who or what I am. Yes, I have taken photographs with my wife at our house in an attempt to be humorous because I am neither a gorgeous guy or a beautiful lady. I apologize for any public shame caused by my private, personal life.”
According to the article, Copeland reportedly wrote about transforming to a woman, killing a local company owner to steal her identity, and then seducing her husband in his sexual fiction.
The woman told 1819 News that she knew Copeland’s family and was upset to find that her name and company were included in the erotica.
According to the report, Copeland had also shared images of other residents, including a juvenile, with sexual remarks without their knowledge.
