ATLANTA — As a Christian author, gospel singer and leader of one of the nation’s best-known black megachurches, Bishop Eddie L. Long finds a wide audience for messages such as marriage is “between one man and one woman.” Those words hung heavy Wednesday over accusations that the TV preacher, a married father of four, used jewelry, cars and cash to lure three young men into sexual relationships.
Lawsuits filed Tuesday and Wednesday say the young men were 17 or 18 years old at the time, enrolled in New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s ministry for teen boys.
A lawyer for Long, who writes books on heterosexual relationships and has strong ties to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family, adamantly denied the allegations. Few at Long’s 25,000-strong church will discuss the situation, and the grounds were quiet Wednesday, save for a small group walking in prayer. But those who will speak say they are supporting him.
B.J. Bernstein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said she opened her investigation after getting a call from one of the men. The Associated Press normally does not name people who claim they are victims of sexual impropriety, but Bernstein said all three — Maurice Robinson, 20; Anthony Flagg, 21; and Jamal Parris, 23 — have consented to making their identities public. CNN has reported that Parris now lives in Colorado.
Bernstein said she didn’t trust local authorities to investigate the claims.
“This is a really large church that’s incredibly politically powerful,” Bernstein said. “There are pictures of this guy with every politician around. With something this important, how can I trust that word didn’t get back to the bishop?”
DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown has been a member of New Birth for more than 15 years and sits on the advisory board for Long’s Longfellows Youth Academy. He said he would stand by the bishop and bristled at Bernstein’s suggestion that local authorities couldn’t be trusted.
Bernstein said that her case hinges on her three clients’ testimony and that she doesn’t have much physical evidence backing up her complaint.
