Anti-gay Pastor Eddie Long has been atop of the news headlines these past few days after allegations of sexual coercion by two young male church members via a very publicized lawsuit. Bishop Long has yet to speak to the public personally, only so far having a spokesperson categorically deny the allegations on his behalf. According to reports, Bishop Long canceled two scheduled press interviews after a third lawsuit was announced. The details of all three suits describe Long as a sexual predator, as the young men were said to be underage when the relationships began. There have already been pics of Bishop Long looking like he's posing in a male body building contest splashed across news channels. Supposedly, they were sent from Bishop Long to at least one of the alleged victims via cell phone. We have no doubt we will see more things revealed from the case which will not be flattering to Long. We might even bet on an out-of court-settlement and a pulpit confession. Don't quote us though. Pop the Trunk if you're interested in some of the lurid details, plus watch Diane Sawyer's "World News Tonight" coverage of the story...
Via CNN:
"The lawyers have made the decision that due to the third lawsuit, Bishop Long (will) not do interviews or make statements tomorrow," Art Franklin said Wednesday night. "We apologize for any inconvenience. Bishop Long will make his first statement from the pulpit on Sunday."Yikes! Sounds like Bishop Eddie Long is in for a fight! Read the complete article at the [Source]
Long was also scheduled to address the civil lawsuits filed against him on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show." Instead, his lawyers will speak, Long's lawyer told Roland Martin, a syndicated columnist and CNN political analyst. Martin was scheduled to conduct the interview during his segment of the radio show.
A third lawsuit against Long was filed Wednesday, joining two that were filed on Tuesday. Like the first two, the third suit was filed in DeKalb County, Georgia. It was brought on behalf of Jamal Parris, now 23, who like the others was a teenager when he joined Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which claims more than 25,000 members.
The suit, which claims Long encouraged Parris to call him "Daddy," also names the church and Long's LongFellows Youth Academy as defendants.
The new lawsuit gives intimate details about Parris and his alleged relationship with Long.
Parris joined New Birth in 2001, when he was 14. Long counseled Parris when the latter talked about his strained relationship with his father and got him a job as a summer camp counselor at the church, the suit states.
The suit, which like the others was filed by Atlanta attorney B.J. Bernstein, claims Long engaged in sexual acts with Parris. The young man eventually became a church employee and served as personal assistant to Long and traveled with him, the suit says. The pastor continued to engage in sexual activity with Parris and gave him money, trips and gifts, the suit says.
It says Parris left the church in late 2009, "disillusioned, confused and angry about his relationship with Defendant Long." The bishop manipulated and deceived Parris into thinking that the acts were a "healthy component of his spiritual life," the suit states.
The allegations are similar to those contained in the Tuesday suits, filed on behalf of Anthony Flagg, now 21, and Maurice Murray Robinson, now 20. All three contend the LongFellows Youth Academy and New Birth knew or should have known of Long's behavior and that they failed to warn the young men.
The lawsuits describe LongFellows as an offshoot of New Birth. According to its website, the group's vision is to "love, live and lead. We successfully meet the demanding needs of young men through a vigorous Rites of Passage Curriculum that helps young men realize their hidden potential and discover their masculine heart."
Bernstein has alleged Long had a pattern of using his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of the church into sex. CNN was the first to report on the lawsuits.
Long is considered one of the nation's top African-American preachers. His church was the site of Coretta Scott King's 2006 funeral, attended by then-President George W. Bush and three former presidents. King was the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The three men claim Long took them on overnight trips to various locations within the United States and beyond, sharing a room and engaging in sexual contact with them, including massaging, masturbation and oral sex.
Bernstein, who represents Parris, Flagg and Robinson, said Wednesday that the youths' accounts are "really strong."
She said she has worked with sexual abuse victims and finds the two believable because of "the emotion. The intensity. The very strong description of what sexual acts occurred. ... This is not just someone giving a vague thing, 'Oh, yeah, one time he did this,' or a couple of times."
This is major.... First the arrogance of the man to think that he didn't need to worry about sending text pictures in those outfits to these kids is huge. That he thinks he is above the law of the land and then promotes hate against the very acts he participates in... show what self hate he has for himself and disgust he has for others.
ReplyDeleteHe thought he could get around all of this because the first two accusers came and lashed out on him by stealing- thus causing questions about them and what they did- who would believe what they have to say- BUT the third man must be his smoking gun- whoops- no press conference- no tv- just the promise to talk from the safety of his pulpit-
will want to see where this goes- so interesting that just only now people are believing church wrong doing when it comes to kids-