Bishop Eddie L. Long admits in court documents that he took his accusers on glamorous domestic and overseas trips, but said it did not mean that he did anything inappropriate with them. However, the pastor opens himself up to speculation with the appearance of impropriety because New Birth Missionary Baptist Church stated in its answer to the lawsuit that Long stayed in the same hotel rooms with some of the young men.
The four young accusers allege that Long used these very trips, along with lavish gifts and jobs and even cars, to lure them into sexual relationships. Bishop Long denies this and vowed to church members that he will fight the accusations.
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, based in suburban Atlanta, filed its own response in DeKalb County State Court Monday, acknowledging that Long did travel with the men to various worldwide locales but couldn’t explain the nature of the relationships that existed between Long and the four men.
The church confirmed in court documents that Anthony Flagg, one of the accusers, traveled with Long on trips to places like Tuskegee, Ala., New York and Las Vegas, but couldn’t provide further details. It said it could not “admit or deny” allegations that the two were intimate.
That statement alone can be seen as damning to Bishop for it corroborates others allegations that he often operated without the knowledge of the church leaders.
The response said “the church understands that Bishop Long often shared hotel rooms with members of the congregation while traveling,” but it couldn’t say whether Flagg shared a room with Long. The response was filed by attorneys with the Atlanta law firm Drew Eckl Farnham, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Long declared publicly that the plaintiffs’ allegations are false. He made a response in a separate court filing last week.
New Birth also stated that Maurice Robinson, another accuser, participated in the LongFellows Youth Academy that Long founded for boys ages 13–18. –terry shropshire
