A DeKalb county judge has agreed to hear the charges contained in the 4 lawsuits filed by young men who allege sexual abuse at the hands of Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
Meanwhile, a New Birth Baptist Church minister is speaking up about sex scandal charges surrounding the church’s embattled pastor Bishop Eddie Long.
“If indeed there were people aware of this kind of situation, they would have been reported. So there’s no way that individuals here at New Birth could have been aware of those kind of allegations and not communicate,” said New Birth Chief Ministry Officer Darius Wise.
Wise, who is in his 30s, said he met the bishop 12 years ago while he was a freshman at Morris Brown College. He said the bishop mentored him and helped him become the man he is today.
“The list goes on and on of people who can tell the same story that I’m telling here today that Bishop Long has been an incredible blessing in their lives,” Wise said.
Wise dismissed the pictures floating around the Internet that show the bishop wearing spandex shorts and muscle shirts. B.J. Bernstein, the attorney for the plaintiffs, alleges the bishop sent those photos to the young men.
“For him to be as conscious as he is about his health about his physique that’s not uncommon to take a picture of yourself,” Wise said.
As for the grown men who allege that the bishop “sexually abused” them when they were in their late teens to early twenties, Wise said, “We are praying for you. We are desperately praying for those guys.”
