Two male members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church claim Bishop Eddie Long exploited his role as spiritual leader to coerce them into having sex with him when they were teenagers.
Pastor Long “categorically” denied the allegations through his attorney Craig Gillen. Gillen says the suit was filed in retaliation after one of the young men was caught in a burglary at the internationally-renowned megachurch.
The two men allege that Long abused his spiritual authority to lavish them with money, cars, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities in exchange for sexual favors. They also claim Long has had sexual relations with multiple other members.
The lawsuit makes the following accusations:
“Defendant Long has utilized his spiritual authority as Bishop and leader of Defendants’ ministries to coerce certain young male members and employees of Defendant New Birth and pupils of Defendant Longfellows into engaging in sexual acts and relationships for his own personal sexual gratification.
“Defendant Long,” the suit continues, “has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as Bishop over them to ultimately bring them to a point of engaging in a sexual relationship.”
The lawsuit is particularly inflammatory because in the early part of the new millennium, Bishop Long and Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter, Bernice, led a very public march denouncing homosexuality.
The suit contends that “Long uses monetary funds from the accounts of Defendant New Birth among other corporate and nonprofit corporate accounts to entice the Spiritual Sons, as they were known, with cars, clothes, jewelry and electronics.”
B.J. Bernstein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that when the relationships started, the plaintiffs were past the legal age of consent in Georgia, which is 16.
When asked about a possible motive for the accusations, Gillen referred to a break-in at Long’s office in June.
Bernstein told reporters that one of the plaintiffs is facing a criminal burglary charge in the incident. She said the break-in was his way of lashing out at Long.
Long became pastor of New Birth 23 years ago with a church membership of just 300 parishioners. In less than five years, the membership mushroomed to more than 8,000 members, many of whom reside in DeKalb County, home to arguably the largest collection of affluent African Americans in the world. Athletes and entertainers have called New Birth their spiritual home.
Today, New Birth sits on a colossal 250 acres and boasts a membership of more than 25,000 members spread out among several counties. The massive campus also holds a $50 million, 10,000-seat cathedral and more than 40 ministries, most particularly the Longfellows Youth Academy, a tuition-based program for young men 13 to 18. –terry shropshire
