While the terms of the settlement were not released, both parties have been in mediation for months. Long continues to hope that this matter may be resolved expeditiously, harmoniously and fairly; however, she has determined that dismissal of her divorce petition is not appropriate at this time,” her attorney said in a statement.
Long’s accusers say he coerced them into sexual relations when the they were teenagers.
The men – Anthony Flagg, Spencer LeGrande, Jamal Parris and Maurice Robinson – accused Long of using his role as pastor to coerce them into sexual acts in exchange for cars, clothing, jewelry, electronics, college tuition and extravagant overnight trips to New York, Las Vegas, the Caribbean, New Zealand and other places.
ATLANTA (CBS/AP) Jamal Parris, one of the young men accusing Bishop Eddie Long of coercing him into a sexual relationship, said that after he turned the legal age of consent all the pastor wanted was sex.
PICTURES: Bishop Eddie Long
"His house.
You cannot say, ‘I was born this way.’ … I don’t care what scientists say!”
The allegations of sexual misconduct were first announced last September. His condos. Parris was referring to himself and the other accusers: Maurice Robinson, Anthony Flagg and Spencer LeGrande. He once led a march against gays through the streets of Atlanta, and described homosexuality as a “spiritual abortion.”
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“The problem today, and the reason society is like it is, is because men are being feminized and women are being masculine!
As the age of consent in Georgia is 16, Long will apparently not face criminal charges.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF BISHOP EDDIE LONG ON CRIMESIDER
Megachurch Pastor Eddie Long Leaves Church, After Wife Files For Divorce
Eddie Long, the anti-gay preacher who was accused of sexually abusing four young men in his youth ministry, announced today he is taking a leave from his Atlanta megachurch to spend time with his family.
“I’m still your pastor, you will receive my direction,” Long told the congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
Vanessa Long, who has been married to the pastor for 21 years, filed divorce papers last Thursday, but withdrew them a few hours later.
But Vanessa Long’s change of heart was short-lived.
The hotels.
Bishop Eddie Long Settles Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Misconduct
Bishop Eddie Long, a virulently anti-gay Georgia pastor who heads one of the nation’s largest megachurches, has reached a settlement with four men who accused him of abusing his role as pastor to compel them into sexual relationships when they were teenagers.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported today that the case likely will be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning Long cannot face another lawsuit stemming from the same allegations.
In the church," Parris told Fox TV affiliate WAGA.
Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church said the decision to settle was made “to bring closure to this matter and allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry.” B.J. Bernstein, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, declined to comment.
Long came to the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2007 as one of the most virulently homophobic African-American leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement who, along with other prominent clerics, embodied black religious resistance to LGBT rights.
The preacher settled with the accusers for an undisclosed amount last May. Some suggest he spent nearly $2.5 million to end the lawsuit. In a videotaped sermononce for sale in the church bookstore, Long denounced homosexuality and attributed perceived problems with Western culture to blurred gender lines. "I'm not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off my body."
During services at his church on Sunday, Long turned to biblical terms to portray himself as an underdog but didn't outright deny the allegations.
In the Fox interview, a vehement Parris said Long "manipulated us from childhood" under the guise of providing a fatherly influence.
This summer, at his first public appearance after news of the allegations broke, Vanessa Long stood by her husband’s side.
The church is trying to put a good face on the most recent developments, and today told its Twitter followers, “The enemy wants us to think it isn’t well.”
Eddie and Vanessa Long have three children together, and he also has a son named Edward from his previous marriage.
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which has more than 25,000 members, has been rocked by the scandal involving their “bishop.”
Elder Bernice King, daughter of slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, left the church this summer but denied she left because of the allegations surrounding Long having sex with young men in his youth ministry.
Long has a long history of preaching again gays, gay sex and gay marriage.
Friday, her lawyers announced the divorce was back on.
“Mrs. All four are now in their 20s but were 17 and 18 when they had sexual relationships with Long, the lawsuits say. "In the church, before and after service."
Parris admitted to the Atlanta station that the suggestive pictures of the pastor wearing spandex and workout clothes were sent to him and that the pastor expected him to return the favor.
"Did he ask for pictures like that from you?" WAGA reporter Dale Russell asked Parris, who then replied, "Yeah."
The 23-year-old is one of four men suing the megachurch preacher in state court, claiming that Long abused his "spiritual authority" and gave them cars, clothes, cash and trips to lure them into sexual relationships while they were teen members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta.
Parris described an ongoing emotional struggle.
"I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head and I cannot forget the smell of his cologne and I cannot forget the way he made me cry many nights when I drove in his cars on the way home," Parris told the station.