Bishop Eddie L. Long’s first wife claimed in court documents that he abused her while they were married nearly 30 years ago. Worse, Dabara S. Houston said the abuse took place while she was pregnant with their first child.
Court documents claim that Long’s “violent and vicious temper” imprisoned her within a home of terror and cruelty, forcing her to finally run away from Long and their home to ensure her safety, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
The timing of the AJC story is curious and smacks of opportunism, the attorney for Long states.
The couple were married from 1981–83. They came to a settlement in their divorce in March of 1983 that gave Houston custody of their child who was 2 years old at the time.
The Bishop Long scandal has shocked the black church and the entire African American community. Four men have alleged that Long coerced them into gay sex. The plaintiff’s attorney, B.J. Bernstein, has been bitterly criticized in some quarters of the community for her Hollywood style of defending Long‘s accusers. Long’s attorneys have started to fire back, hiring investigator T.J. Ward to join their legal team.
“This is an attack on Bishop Eddie Long and the church. Our plans are to take each allegation and look into them and behind them and look at the validity,” Ward told the AJC.
As he promised in church, Bishop Long said he would fight back at these accusations of sexual abuse and he also bucks back on his ex-wife. In a statement to the AJC Wednesday, Sept. 29, Long’s attorney Craig Gillen said, “The allegations of a divorce pleading that is nearly 30 years old are absolutely not true. It’s offensive and disappointing that the media would drag up these outrageous allegations and make them a part of their reporting.”
Long said Tuesday, Sept. 28 if people only believed what they saw in the media, “I’d be scared to show up, I’d be scared to look at you. But there’s something in me bigger than the situation.” –terry shropshire
