Third sex-abuse lawsuit filed against Atlanta pastor

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Errin Haines / Associated Press

Atlanta -- The prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta denies allegations in a lawsuit that he coerced three young men from the congregation into a sexual relationship, his attorney said.

Lawyers for two of the men, now 20 and 21, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in DeKalb County Court against Bishop Eddie Long, also a well-known TV personality. The third lawsuit was filed Wednesday. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they were victims of sexual impropriety.

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The men who sued were 17- and 18-year-old members of the church when they say Long abused his spiritual authority to seduce them with cars, money, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities.

Craig Gillen, Long's attorney, says the pastor "categorically denies the allegations."

"We find it unfortunate that these two young men would take this course of action," Gillen said late Tuesday after news of the lawsuit broke.

Long has called for a national ban on same-sex marriage and his church -- the sprawling New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia -- counsels gay members to become straight. In 2004, he led a march with Bernice King, a daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to her father's Atlanta grave to support a national constitutional amendment to protect marriage "between one man and one woman."

He also has released several gospel albums, authored books on relationships and spirituality, and hosts a weekly television program.

B.J. Bernstein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said she opened her investigation after getting a call from one of the boys. She said her law office is now broadening the investigation.

The New Birth campus was quiet Wednesday morning, with no unusual activity. Administrative staff referred media inquiries to Long's spokesman, and people at the church declined to comment on the situation.


From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/201009...z11ZaaMFQp