Megachurch pastor denies luring four teenage boys into sexual relationships but admits: 'I told them to call me Daddy'
The megachurch pastor from Georgia accused of luring four young men into sexual relationships categorically denied the allegations for the first time in a court filing Monday.
Bishop Eddie Long, who is a vocal opponent of gay marriage, has admitted he encouraged them to call him 'daddy' but said he was only a mentor to the men who filed civil lawsuits against him.
Bishop Long, of the New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia, has vowed to fight the lawsuits and promised in church sermons he would not let the legal troubles prevent him from doing his pastoral work.
Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church welcomed President Bush during the Coretta Scott King funeral in 2006
While his lawyer has denied the allegations on his behalf, Long had not refuted them publicly until he filed his legal response.
The men, who were 17 and 18 at the time, have claimed that Long abused his spiritual authority to lure them into trysts with cars, jewellery and cash.
Their lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said she doesn't have much physical evidence backing up the complaints, but that she plans to subpoena records from Long that will show he travelled with the young men to New Zealand and elsewhere.
Bernstein declined to comment because she had not yet received the response.
Long, though, said in the four separate documents that he often encouraged his New Birth Missionary Church members to call him 'daddy' and that some even called him 'grandaddy,' but that the term was a sign of respect.
Long's lawyer has previously spoken out to defend photos the preacher took with his cellphone and sent some of the young men who are now suing him
The bishop also said in the documents that he has long shared rooms with some of his church members, and that his parishioners often hug him.
And while he admitted to giving the plaintiffs gifts, he said he often provided many members of his church with financial assistance.
Long became one of the nation's most powerful church leaders over the past two decades, transforming a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a powerhouse of 25,000 members that includes high-profile athletes, entertainers and politicians.
The bishop is a father of four who has counselled gay members of his church to become straight.
But the TV preacher's empire was threatened in September when the four men filed the lawsuits.
Two of the young men say he targeted them after they enrolled in the church's LongFellows Youth Academy, a programme that taught teens about sexual, physical and financial discipline.
The other two - one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, North Carolina - have made similar claims.
In September lawyer Craig Gillen defended photos Long sent some of the men from his cellphone, showing the pastor in fitted workout clothing, calling him 'a health advocate, he’s a weight lifter'.
He added: 'He’s a fella, who’s gonna go to work and he’s gonna have on a muscle shirt.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Comments