Tag: Lawsuits/Litigation

Uncategorized

“Update: Long Stepping Down After Sunday’s Address”

The ReadyWriter

This is all in light of 30 young men who have already contacted BJ Bernstien the lawyer who filed the civil suit on behalf of Anthony Flagg, Maurice Robinson and Jamal Parris, and both Long and the Church are fearful more are coming

A fourth young man has come forward and said he had sexual relations with Bishop Eddie Long when he was a teenager, the Associated Press reports. His latest accuser, Spencer LeGrande, claims he was 17 when he began a sexual relationship with Long while accompanying the bishop on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya. Read more…

Our source also tells us that Long had initially planned to step down from the Church today, however, with plans to address the congregation in this Sunday’s sermon it’s likely that he will announce his decision to take a reprieve from his duties when he is at the pulpit on Sunday.

An additional source familiar with Long and his practices at New Birth tells us that it’s a definite possibility that there could be at least that many plaintiffs, since Bishop Long selects new “Spiritual Sons” regularly and has been doing so for years!!!

God is NOT PLAYING people!

Uncategorized

“Bishop Long And His Muscle Shirts”

The ReadyWriter

His lawyer explains…

New photos have surfaced showing troubled New Birth Pastor Bishop Eddie Long posing in a bathroom mirror wearing tight muscle shirts and bicycle shorts. The photos were first aired by ABC News yesterday evening.

The cell phone pictures are of the variety that men send to women they are crushing on.

The married father of four allegedly sent the undated pics via text message to the three young men named in separate sexual harassment lawsuits filed against him.

Long was scheduled to address the sex scandal on local radio shows this morning, but he canceled his appearances after a 3rd lawsuit was filed yesterday by Jamal Paris, 23, a former member of New Birth who claims Long made him call him “daddy.”

Long also canceled a press conference which was scheduled for later today.

Long’s attorney, Craig Gillen, read a brief statement from Long on the air this morning on The Tom Joyner Morning show on Kiss 104.1 and The Frank & Wanda Morning Show on V-103.

He said Long would address the scandal this coming Sunday during the 11 a.m. service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church at 6400 Woodrow Road in Lithonia.

In addition to “categorically” denying the allegations against his client, Gillen stammered out an explanation of the cell phone “muscle shirt” pictures that are sweeping the Internet and blog sites:

“The photos don’t corroborate these charges. [Bishop Long] is a health advocate, he’s a weight lifter. Uh, he’s a fella, you know, who’s gonna go to work and he’s gonna have on a muscle shirt. And he’s gon’, you know, he may show up in church, uh, you know, in a muscle shirt. And… I know sure enough he can come, he comes down to my office in a muscle shirt. So, uh, you know, uh, there’s nothing really in those photographs that seems to me, uh, in any way that, uh, is uh, corroborative of, uh, of these allegations.”

Bishop Eddie Long is facing some very serious allegations and charges here and this is the language and the dialogue of a lawyer who’s representing him in this scandal?

What a joke!! – I would dismiss this man’s representation on the spot.

Uncategorized

“Eddie Long Is Defended By His Spokesperson”

The ReadyWriter

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church continues to defend its embattled Pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, who stands accused of using his excessive influence over young men in his ministry by coercing them into providing him with sexual favors in return for cash and lavish gifts.

The plaintiffs, Anthony Flagg, 21, and Maurice Robinson, 20, of DeKalb County, filed lawsuits against Long and his ministry on Tuesday.

Art Franklin, the head of public relations for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church called into the V-103 Frank and Wanda Morning show this morning to categorically deny the allegations against Long.

Franklin said the church found out about the allegations through the media. “We have not actually been served any copies of the lawsuits,” he told Frank Ski, who is a staunch supporter of Long and a longtime member of New Birth Missionary Baptist church.

Rumor has it that Franklin himself was caught up in a similar sex scandal when his wife divorced him, citing extramarital affairs — with other men.

Meanwhile, industry insiders are whispering that the allegations contained in the lawsuits are just the tip of the iceberg. “This is about to be Tiger Woods part 2,” said one source who is close to the New Birth camp.

The source said Long was often seen in the company of young boys who he wined and dined in fancy restaurants.

“These boys are older now and they are no longer getting money from the church,” said the source, indicating that more lawsuits will soon follow.

In the meantime, New Birth Ministries took down its website last night, most likely to scrub the website of pictures or other damaging info that might hurt their case.

Source

Uncategorized

“The Bishop’s Alias Was Dick Tracy”

The ReadyWriter

That’s the name Bishop Eddie Long used when he was traveling and checking into lavish hotels with his young male church members. The men flew on Long’s personal jet and shared a bed with him at hotels.

However, the bulk of the relations occurred on the megachurch’s property, including inside Long’s “guest house” on Snapfinger Road in south DeKalb, GA.

The plaintiffs, Anthony Flagg, 21, and Maurice Robinson, 20, began having inappropriate relations with Eddie Long at the age of 16, which is the legal age of consent in Georgia, said their attorney B.J. Bernstein.

The suits allege that Long chose the plaintiffs to be his “Spiritual Sons,” a program that allegedly includes other young men from the church.

“Spiritual Sons are taken on public and private jets to U.S. and international destinations, housed in luxury hotels and given access to numerous celebrities including entertainment stars and politicians,” the suit alleges.

Flagg moved into a home owned by another New Birth pastor when he was a high school junior, according to the suit, where Long would sometimes share a bed with him. Flagg was eventually put on the church’s payroll, his suit alleges, with Long personally delivering his pay checks.

Flagg’s suit says that Long presided over a spiritual “covenant” ceremony between the two of them.

“It was essentially a marriage ceremony, with candles, exchange of jewelry, and biblical quotes,” Bernstein said Tuesday. “The bishop [told] him I will always have your back and you will always have mine.”

This is really sick!!

The suits allege that various staff members working for Long, his church and the Longfellows Academy — which the suit describes as an offshoot ministry of New Birth — “knew of Defendant Long’s sexually inappropriate conduct and did nothing to warn or protect [the plaintiffs].”

Uncategorized

“Bishop Eddie Long Is Being Sued”

The ReadyWriter

By two men for sexual coercion. This is a mess!!

According to CNN.com, two Georgia men have filed a sexual coercion lawsuits against Bishop Eddie Long, Pastor of the mega New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA.

The suits, filed Tuesday in DeKalb County, Georgia, allege that Long used his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church into sex.

“Defendant Long 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 suits allege.

Long took the other plaintiff, Maurice Murray Robinson, 20, to Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2008 for his 19th birthday and engaged in oral sex with him, Robinson’s suit alleges.

“Following the New Zealand Trip, Defendant Long regularly engaged in sexual touching, and other sexual acts with Plaintiff Robinson,” Robinson’s suit alleges.

The pastor took one plaintiff, Anthony Flagg, 21, on overnight trips to a half-dozen American cities in recent years, Flagg’s suit alleges.

“Long shared a bedroom and engaged in intimate sexual contact with plaintiff Flagg including kissing, massaging, masturbating of plaintiff Flagg by defendant Long and oral sexual contact,” the suit says.

 Art Franklin, a spokesman for the church, said Tuesday that “we categorically deny the allegations.”

“It is very unfortunate that someone has taken this course of action. Our law firm will be able to respond once attorneys have had an opportunity to review the lawsuit.”

According to CNN, both plaintiffs said the pastor, his church and church employees gave them cash and lavish gifts that ranged from cars to college tuition.

The suits also said that Long framed the sexual relationships as religious in nature.

“Defendant Long would use Holy Scripture to discuss and justify the intimate relationship between himself and Plaintiff Robinson,” Robinson’s suit alleges.