Not only did Bishop Thomas Weeks plead guilty Tuesday to attacking his estranged wife, Juanita Bynum, but he also offered her an apology in open court.
"I want to apologize to my wife for all actions you had to go through," Weeks said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. "I know it has been difficult. I appreciate you and I thank you."
In copping to aggravated assault, Weeks admitted that he grabbed Bynum, threw her to the ground and kicked her during an Aug. 21 altercation in the parking of the Renaissance Concourse Hotel, the paper reports.
Fulton County Superior Court judge T. Jackson Bedford sentenced Weeks to non-church related community service and anger management classes. Once he completes both conditions, the aggravated assault conviction will be expunged from his record.
Bedford shared her personal thoughts with the ministers before court was adjourned.
"I understand if not hundreds of thousands, millions of people look to you for leadership, both moral and spiritual," Bedford said to both Bynum and Weeks. "Going forward I would be mindful in your conduct in the future. Going through a divorce is a very difficult time. I know what it does to people.
"I'm very pleased this was able to be worked out. Neither of you needed to be exposed to what would have happened in the courtroom. I wish you the very best," Bedford said.
Weeks and Bynum faced reporters together outside the courthouse. Bynum said seeing her husband on Monday at a divorce deposition brought back old memories, which led her to ask the court for leniency in its treatment of the bishop.
"When I saw him it reminded me of 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."
Weeks would not say whether he and Bynum were getting back together, explaining "God is in control of all things." But he did have advice to men facing similar conflicts with their spouses, stating they should "walk away, just walk away."
