The bishop Eddie Long sex scandal saga is far from over. In court filings last Monday (Nov. 1), the pastor of the 25,000 member New Birth Missionary Baptist church requested a timeline of the proceedings so he can get on with his life.

According to the AJC, Long filed four lengthy responses in DeKalb County State Court, denying all allegations that he coerced young men into sexual relationships.

Four men have come forward to file lawsuits against Long and the church alleging inappropriate sexual and fiduciary misconduct.

In the filings obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Long asked for the four lawsuits to be dismissed and judgment to be entered in his favor.

In September, four young men — Maurice Robinson, Anthony Flagg, Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande — filed suits against Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The young men claimed Long coerced them into having sex with him in exchange for lavish gifts, trips and jobs. In the filings, Long said it has been a practice of his to occasionally share a room with members of his congregation. However, he said “the plaintiff’s claims of sexual misconduct are not true.”

The plaintiffs allege the sexual relations occurred when they were 16 or older. The legal age of consent is 16 in Georgia. [link]

Long has maintained that he gave the plaintiffs gifts, including cars, clothes and assistance with rent, but he denied that it was in exchange for sex.

Why doesn’t he just admit that he had sex with the guys? There is no law against having sex with consenting adults.

On Monday, New Birth Missionary Baptist church and the LongFellows Youth Academy, filed responses, saying they could not confirm or deny whether sexual contact took place.

The church said Anthony Flagg, one of the accusers, traveled with Long on trips to Tuskegee, Ala., New York and Las Vegas, but couldn’t provide further details. It said it could not “admit or deny” allegations that the two were intimate.

The response said “the church understands that Bishop Long often shared hotel rooms with members of the congregation while traveling,” but it couldn’t say whether Flagg shared a room with Long. [link]

Maybe someone can explain to me what the damages are since these men have all admitted they were not underage.