Remember when Bishop Eddie Long told his congregation that he had 5 rocks and he hadn’t thrown one yet? Well, he just heaved one, according to the Atlanta Journal.
The AJC reports that the judge overseeing the Bishop Eddie Long sex scandal case has set a trial for late Summer. The news indicates that settlement negotiations that have been ongoing for months have broken down and the case will go to trial.
This is actually good news for Long and his dwindling flock over at New Birth Missionary Baptist church, which was once 25,000 members strong.
Long found himself embroiled in a sex scandal late last year when a young man alleged that Long coerced him and other young men into sexual relationships with him in exchange for clothing, cars and trips.
The pastor has long maintained that he gave the four male plaintiffs gifts, including cars, clothes and assistance with rent, but he denied that the endowments were in exchange for sex.
When the news first broke last November, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and the LongFellows Youth Academy filed responses saying they could not confirm or deny whether sexual misconduct took place.
But Long’s attorneys pointed out that there was no law against having sex with consenting adults.
All of the plaintiffs admitted in news broadcasts and in court documents that they were fully grown men when the consenting sexual acts took place.
