Bishop Eddie Long Scandal: Lawyer Drops Long's Accusers for Violation of Settlement and Long's School closes

I empathize with Eddie Long’s accusers.

In August, two of them, Spencer LaGrande and Jamal Parris, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the alleged wounds of what they call exploitation by the man they knew as “bishop” and “Daddy” are still fresh.

“I’m fighting not to pull the trigger,” Parris said, days after receiving probation for drug and gun possession charges. “I’d love to take pills and never wake up.”

“The truth should’ve set [us] free,” he added, paraphrasing John 8:32. “I thought I could cover the pain up. I thought I could move, start over and everything would go away. I was terribly wrong. I’m living a lifestyle meant to crash.”

Those summer interviews with the newspaper and two Atlanta TV stations, during which LaGrande and Parris reaffirmed accusations of sexual coercion by the mega-church pastor when they were teens, have jeopardized nearly $1 million of a settlement they and fellow litigants have been paid by Long (who has denied the allegations and settled the lawsuit for “closure”). Moreover, they have lost their legal team because of Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s request for a new arbitration hearing.

I worry most about Anthony Flagg and Maurice Robinson, also part of the settlement, who must remain silent.

I know this silence and shame well.

UPDATE:

The lawyer for three of the men involved in the sexual misconduct suit against Bishop Eddie Long has dropped her clients after they violated their confidentiality agreement, according to Fox News.

Lawyer Brenda Joy (BJ) Bernstein and co-counsel Jay Sadd decided to drop Jamal Parris, Spencer LaGrande and Centino Kemp because of a conflict of interest, as Long's lawyers have moved to collect "not less than $900,000" for violation of the settlement.

Long's attorneys are demanding arbitration because they claim the three men violated the settlement terms through interviews with the media and on Twitter. They state that Jamal Paris and Spencer LaGrande violated the terms when they participated in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and WSB-TV, which later re-appeared on CNN, and that Centino Kemp failed to adhere to settlement terms when he tweeted in reference to the case.

Long's attorneys claim that Kemp wrote tweets such as "I was literally your hooker," and then in one directed @BishopEddieLong wrote "why that's all I want to no."

They are seeking $300,000 per violation and claim that there is no cap on the amount of damages they can collect.

Long, the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor of Atlanta, Ga., was charged with sexual misconduct in Sept. of 2010 after the five young men, all members of the church, filed a lawsuit against him claiming that he lavished them with gifts, trips and money while coercing them into sexual contact. Long denied the charges of sexual misconduct and vowed to fight them, all the while maintaining that he tried to serve as a father figure to the young men and offer them support, financial assistance and guidance.

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In May of 2011, an out-of-court settlement was reached between Long and his accusers in which each was to receive undisclosed sums of money as long as the case was not discussed. Sources estimate the cost of the settlement to have been around $15 million.

UPDATE:

New Birth Christian Academy is closing after 18 years, sending hundreds of students scrambling to find a new school by next week.

The academy, founded by Bishop Eddie Long, informed parents in a letter dated Dec. 22 that the private school’s “funding estimates fall far short of our projected needs. It is a very sad occasion, as the NBCA board has made the tough decision to temporarily close the school.”

The pre-K-12 school has an enrollment of 221, according to the Georgia Independent School Association, and employs 20 teachers. Just a few years ago, the Lithonia academy boasted of having one teacher for every eight students.

Tuition at the school ranged from $5,253 for New Birth members to $6,198 for non-members with more than $1,000 in non-refundable fees, according to the academy’s website..