GA - Bishop Long accused of coercing young males into sex

[believe09]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101004...s_private_investigator_to_fight_sex_scandal_1

Bishop Eddie Long Hires Famous Private Investigator to Fight Sex Scandal


"The Eddie Long side of the sex scandal case added some defense muscle Thursday when the Bishop's defense team hired famed private investigator T. J. Ward to help in the investigation into the sex allegations made against the megachurch pastor by four young men last week. T. J. Ward, who became famous as part of the investigation into the notorious Natalee Holloway disappearance in Aruba..."

more at link

BBM-is this the guy who got Joran to "confess" to him on tape? If so, his cover is blown, man. Note to the young men involved in this case, do not hang out in a car with this man...

 

[SleuthyMama]

Pretty sure that wasn't the guy, Believe. I think that man's name was Peter De Vries (hope I'm spelling that right). Oh no, wait. De Vries is the first guy who got him to confess on tape but I don't think it was in the car. The car guy was the guy that Joran wanted to impress by sounding all "."

 

[Missizzy]

Hmmmmm???


http://gossiponthis.com/2010/10/06/bishop-eddie-long-exposed-back-in-2006/

Bishop Eddie Long Exposed for Having Sex with Young Boys Back in 2006?!?


"This Bishop Eddie Long sex scandal story gets crazier by the day! Apparently this isn’t the first time the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor has been accused of messing around with young boys.

Talk show host and best-selling author Reuben Armstrong tells the Examiner that he exposed Bishop Long on his talk show back in 2006 after youth pastors from Long’s church came to Armstrong for help. Armstrong also addresses this particular type of abuse in his best-selling book “Snakes in the Pulpit...."

and

"....Armstrong has talked and wrote about the alleged “child predator” Eddie Long to the point where people blamed him for starting rumors. Two youth pastors from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church contacted Reuben Armstrong in 2006 because of his well known status of going after the truth. The youth pastors where looking for help from Armstrong. They wanted Armstrong to bring to light what they had witnessed at the New Birth Church, especially with their Pastor, Bishop Eddie Long...."


more at link

 

[Missizzy]

It looks as if the two young men, both accusers (one who was reported to have had daily trysts with Long at a house owned by a New Birth board member), broke into Long's office in June 2010 to steal items in retaliation for Long refusing to meet with them young men about the grooming and coercion.

As accuser, JP, said in his interview, the young men tried to get Long to talk but he refused. My guess is that's when they went in looking for evidence and one of them must have stolen jewelry out of spite. Unless, of course that jewelry is unique in a certain way. I've wondered about a gold necklace which Long is wearing in one of his 'beefcake" photos (with the workout gear). He's wearing some sort of a symbol encircled with gold around his neck. It might be nothing at all or one of the young men might think that a piece of jewelry proved something.

Makes me wonder who has those items now and if the info on them was copied before they were handed over to police.

These men were hurt in so many ways; groomed as children, coerced by a spiritual/authority figure, led into a sexual relationship which was contrary to what they'd been taught was right and godly (and one which led to hell or death), and then spurned as they grew older. As Belinda said, rage.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/25200746/detail.html


"....DeKalb County Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Geary said Tuesday through a spokesman that Long asked for the charges to be dropped against MR [an accuser] in August, about two months after authorities say he and AB [an accuser] broke into New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

The district attorney's office declined Long's request to drop the charges and is still investigating the case...."

and

"...In MR's [one of the accusers] complaint against Long, his lawyers allege MR took "the items most precious to Defendant Long" in retaliation.

"According to the incident report, the stolen items included an iPhone, iPad, and an undetermined amount of jewelry...."

more at link

 

[Missizzy]

Now that was downright clever.

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-radio-619062.html

"The suit, similar to two filed on Tuesday, accuses Long of using his power to force the plaintiff into a sexual relationship. In exchange, Long placed JP and the two other men on the church’s payroll, bought them cars and other gifts, and took them on lavish trips..."

and

JP’s suit claims that Long took him on trips on his private jet as far away as Trinidad and Honduras. On some of the trips with MR and AF (also accusers), Long would use the alias “Dick Tracy” when he checked into hotels. According to online service Accurint, a Dick Tracey Long lives in Lithonia at the same address as Eddie L. Long...."

more at link (including more information about the grooming and the break in)

 

[Missizzy]

This article predates the accusations. It places the burglary on June 13th or 14th and says that the men were arrested on a Wednesday. That would have to be June 16th or 23rd, as this article was written on Wednesday June 23rd. Either way, the men had the items for at least a few days. Far long enough to copy information on them.


http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/2-steal-ipad-other-555661.html

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

2 steal iPad, other items from Bishop Eddie Long's office


"At first, the master key to the New Birth Baptist Church was missing.

Then, an iPhone, iPad and other random items – more than $1,300 worth – were taken from Bishop Eddie Long’s office.

The incident happened on June 13, according to a DeKalb police report obtained by the AJC. A security camera at the church on Woodrow Road in Lithonia caught most of it on videotape. Investigators say they don't know what the connection is between the suspects and the church -- but they do believe that the theft was an inside job......"

and

"....the bishop was traveling and would not be able to speak to the press. He referred all questions to the DeKalb police.

In a statement, Long said he “forgives the men and hopes that they understand what they did is wrong. Long added that he is praying for them and that God is a God of mercy and compassion....”

more at link


I'll bet Long was praying.......

 

[Missizzy]

Just a concern. Long has been grooming 14-15 year old boys. He's lavished them with gifts and goodies while he coerced them into relationships. He asked them to call him "Daddy".

He is a father. He's listed as having four children with his wife V. I believe the eldest was born prior to that marriage.

His children's names are out in cyberspace but most links to info about them are thankfully missing or shut down. I have no intention of sleuthing them. My heart goes out to them right now. However, three are young males. The fourth child is female. Being that Long married his current wife, V., in 1990, I would assume that these four children would be in their teens now.

Do you see where this is going?

http://www.answers.com/topic/eddie-l-long

 

[Missizzy]

This is more than a bit disturbing. I was reading about the Long marriage and learned to my surprise that Long's eldest son was adopted by him prior to his marriage to V. I don't know if he was married at the time or not. His second son was born to his first wife and the two youngest were born to V.



http://marriage.about.com/od/religious/p/Vanessa-And-Eddie-Long-Marriage-Profile.htm

http://www.newbirth.org/contact_us/directory

 

[oh_gal]

This is more than a bit disturbing. I was reading about the Long marriage and learned to my surprise that Long's eldest son was adopted by him prior to his marriage to V. I don't know if he was married at the time or not. His second son was born to his first wife and the two youngest were born to V.


http://marriage.about.com/od/religious/p/Vanessa-And-Eddie-Long-Marriage-Profile.htm

http://www.newbirth.org/contact_us/directory

Interesting that in the article in the first link above, Pastor Long says that his first wife said to him (right after their marriage) "I just wanted to see if I could get you" which may lead one to think that that this was not much of a marriage at all, and perhaps, feel a bit of pity towards Pastor Long. However, the marriage produced a son, which leads me to think there was more to this marriage than Long wants you to think. The long and short of it (no pun intended!) is that I'm not picking up what this guy's putting down.

 

[Missizzy]

Eddie Long took one of the accusers to Auckland, NZ on his birthday in 2008. There are some comments floating around that they went here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_Church_(New_Zealand)

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki[/ame]

In October 2009, about 700 male members of the church attended a conference called "MoMENtum" in which Tamaki likened himself to King David [Who else likened himself to David?]. Attendees swore a "covenant oath" of loyalty and obedience to Mr Tamaki and were given a "covenant ring" to wear on their right hands.

A document entitled "Protocols and Requirements Between Spiritual Father & His Spiritual Sons" contains the oath:

"Above all, we stand here today in the presence of God to enter into this sacred covenant with our man of God, Bishop Brian Tamaki” ...

“To you Bishop we pledge our allegiance, our faithfulness and loyalty. We pledge to serve the cause that is in your heart and to finish that work. Success to you and success to those who help you - for God is with you.”

The document asserts Tamaki's authority as "Bishop" and "spiritual father" of the church he founded.

Another section, "Conduct Towards Bishop", states that "Bishop is the tangible expression of God", instructs the "sons" to follow numerous protocols, to defer to Tamaki with unquestioning loyalty and obedience, to follow his dress code, and to never tolerate criticism....."

more at link





Concerning the long standing links between Long's New Birth Church and Tamaki's Destiny Church:

http://www.rickross.com/reference/destiny_churches/destiny_churches4.html

Is Destiny destined to rule?

One News/October 3, 2004



"There are no crosses inside the Destiny church, just pictures of the Tamaki family and other pastors. Last year Tamaki told his followers: "I predict in the next five years, by the time we hit our 10th anniversary - and I don't say this lightly - that we will be ruling the nation."

On that same night Tamaki joined forces with Bishop Eddie L Long, senior pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, USA.

Tamaki said the self-appointed bishop was his spiritual father.

Long blessed Destiny's vision that it will be ruling New Zealand before its 10th anniversary.

"He made a declaration that in five years you shall be ruling and reigning in this nation," Long told the Destiny Church.

"That means you control the wealth, that means you control the riches, that means you control the politics, that means you control the social order, that means that you are in charge."

more at link

 

[Missizzy]

Oh_gal--I noticed the same thing!! Like, "you are one good looking man and I pick you", possibly for her own agenda. After three years, she couldn't put up with him anymore. Long even smugly admits that V. did not know what she was getting into. FWIW, on several sites, both V. and Eddie are listed as surrogate parents to many.

Interestingly enough, a lot of information has disappeared about Long. It worries me that a church and their attorneys would have enough manpower and time and motivation to scrub the internet. I've spent all day on this and I just feel as if I'm starting to peel back the veil.

The whole connection with the Destiny Church in NZ and others in Australia is frightening. Those churches have been watched for quite some time as cults. I wonder if the "covenant rings" could have been some of the jewelry stolen from Long's office?

 

[Missizzy]

http://media2.myfoxatlanta.com/PDF/ROBINSONDraftComplaint.pdf

Long took MR to Auckland, NZ on October 25, 2008. That would have been MR's 19th birthday (per the document). I found a blog post which was posted on October 30, 2008 about Tamaki's plans to build a "walled city" in connection with his Destiny Church, which many are likening to a cult:

http://williamchong.com/2008/10/30/does-destiny-church-really-want-a-walled-city/



By the way, Tamaki is SHOCKED by the allegations. He makes certain to mention that he did NOT meet MR when he was taken on his birthday trip to New Zealand. Well, at least, he says not "formally":

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10675956



Here's the other documents, outlining the allegations:

http://www.examiner.com/us-headline...int-filed-by-anthony-flagg-video-player-video

http://www.examiner.com/us-headlines-in-national/read-complaint-filed-by-jamal-parris-document-video

 

[Missizzy]

I'm all sleuthed out for a while but I do have to say that I'm much more concerned and upset than I was when I started. It looks like these four young men have stepped forward, out of the shadows, and have exposed something quite evil. This is farther reaching than just a handful of young men in Georgia (horrid as that would be). This has global implications, IMO.

 

[Missizzy]

Destiny Church did celebrate their 10th anniversary the very week that Long took MR on his birthday trip:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/680007

18 October 2008

"....This weekend the church celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its shift from Rotorua to Auckland, which saw its numbers jump from about 200 at the first Auckland sermon, to more than 7000...."

 

[Missizzy]

From one of Long's books:

Eddie Long: "When she married me, V. discovered that everything she had 'inherited' when she joined her life to mine was totally opposite from what she had wanted and expected."

Source: Eddie Long. The Elect Lady: Life's Obstacles Become Godly Opportunities. 2008. pgs. 23-24

 

[Missizzy]

http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=522001

Congregation embraces Bishop Eddie Long at Tuesday night service


"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Bishop Eddie Long closed his Tuesday night empowerment service with a massive hugfest, showing he still has strong support among members of his congregation.

Long, dressed in a white muscle shirt, gray vest and slacks, spent at least 25 minutes after the service hugging congregants. During his sermon, though, the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia didn't make any direct references to the sex scandal that has engulfed his ministry...."

more at link

 

[Belinda]

These people are nuts.

 

[Missizzy]

Much has been made about the fact that it appears that Long was extremely careful to wait to have sexual relations with the boys/young men until the legal age of consent in the US. However, I started thinking about that. He's also noted to have traveled extensively with them. There are different age of consent laws in each state and each country.

He took MR to New Zealand on his 19th birthday in October 2008. He seems to be in the clear there as MR was over the age of consent.

But, he took SL to Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa when he was 16 and 17 years old. I'm not absolutely certain as to just what these governments consider homosexual contact but Zimbabwe's and Kenya's law on such is quite clear:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_Africa#Zimbabwe

Kenya:

"Male homosexuals get 25 years in prison." [There is no age of consent as it is illegal]

Zimbabwe:

"...All male same-sex hand-holding and/or male same-sex sexual conduct can lead to one year's imprisonment...."

The complaints below carefully outline exactly what sorts of contact took place with each man. I'm afraid that Long might have slipped up more than a few times.





http://www.claytonmspaparazzi.com/_IMAGES/LeGrandeComplaint.pdf
http://media2.myfoxatlanta.com/PDF/ROBINSONDraftComplaint.pdf
http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2010/09/read-jamal-parris-complaint-against-eddie-long.html

 

[Missizzy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101011...signation_to_be_held_in_megachurch_backyard_1

Rally Calling for Pastor's Resignation to Be Held in Megachurch Backyard


"Although Bishop Eddie Long has received considerable support from other religious leaders and his congregation, not everyone is supportive of his fight against the allegations of four young men who came forward in September and accused the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of sexual coercion. One such person is Bishop Prophet H. Walker of the True Light Pentecost Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who believes that Bishop Eddie Long should resign his position at the New Birth megachurch.

Walker feels so strongly, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that he plans to take his message to Long's backyard, the state Capitol of Georgia.

Bishop H. Walker told the Journal-Constitution that Eddie Long "has no right to assume the office of pastor of any Christian church, A pastor should be above reproach....."

and

"......his congregation and followers (New Birth Ministries is an international organization, controlling several media outlets, branch churches, schools, and charitable organizations) have been quick to show their support of their legally besieged pastor...."

more at link


http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/suit-alleges-bishop-long-676501.html?cxtype=ynews_rss

Suit alleges Bishop Long defaulted on property


"Embattled Bishop Eddie Long took a hit Monday as a new suit was filed, ordering him and two others to pay $1.9 million for defaulting on a property loan...."

and

"The new suit stems from August 2007 when Long and two business partners as part of the West Indies Holding Company bought a gym in Jonesboro. Long’s partners include Marrion Heflin, a self-employed businessman, and Frederick Folson of McDonough, who runs non-profit Strategic Community Initiatives in Lithonia...."

more at link


Note: This last article in interesting as one of the young men's suits claim that Long took them to the West Indies and was sexually inappropriate while there. I believe they went to Turks and Caicos.

 

[Missizzy]

I hope Bishop Long doesn't think that I'm entranced by him or anything. I'm not. FWIW, he disgusts me. I'm just following him through the dailies.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25394921/detail.html

Author Says He Knew Of Bishop Long Sex Abuse Claims in '07


"An author who published a 2007 book accusing Bishop Eddie Long of having homosexual relationships has called for the bishop to step down from the pulpit.
"He is leading God's people to the pits of hell. He needs to confess, repent and let God deal with him," said 'Snakes in the Pulpit' author Reuben Armstrong.

Armstrong is a radio show host based in Dallas, Texas, but said he traveled to Atlanta while researching his book after two New Birth Missionary Baptist Church youth pastors contacted him. He said what they told him back in 2006 sounds a lot like what's alleged in four lawsuits filed against Long in September...."

and

".....Armstrong's book's second chapter ‘Homosexual Pastor,’ accuses Long of having sexual relationships, but Armstrong said he didn't include the part about the victims being teenagers because he couldn't confirm it. He said the pastors were afraid to come forward publicly. "They were scared for the retaliation....."

and

"....Armstrong is teaming up with a South Carolina bishop to host an interdenominational rally calling for Long's resignation at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31. Georgia's Building Authority has already authorized the event...."

more at link