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VIA EURWEB.COM

More details have emerged regarding the response filed Monday by prominent Georgia pastor Eddie Long, which denies allegations in four lawsuits that accuse him of coercing young men into sexual relationships.

“The plaintiff’s claims of sexual misconduct are not true,” each of the four responses filed by Long’s attorneys says, according to CNN. The responses, each about 30 pages, offer a point-by-point response to each of the allegations and claims in the lawsuits. The documents were posted on the website of CNN affiliate WSB.

Four members of Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church — Anthony Flagg, 21; Maurice Robinson, 20; Jamal Parris, 23; and Spencer LeGrande, 22 — filed suit against Long and the 25,000-member megachurch in September, claiming he used his position as their spiritual counselor to pressure them into sexual relationships.

The suits allege that the relationships, which began when the men were in their teens, lasted over many months. According to the lawsuits, Long traveled with the young men to locations in the United States and abroad, sharing a room and engaging in sexual contact with them, including massaging, masturbation or oral sex. The suits also claim Long provided the youths with gifts including cars and money.

Long, one of his attorneys and a church spokesman have already publicly denied the allegations. In the responses filed Monday in DeKalb County, Georgia, Long’s attorneys maintain the pastor was attempting to be a father figure to the youths, providing them with financial assistance and encouragement and helping them navigate their troubles.

Long has “been successful at building a ministry at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that places a special emphasis on outreach to men, reinforcing to men the importance of partnering with a ministry that will grow them spiritually and will help them develop the life skills needed to become successful in the workplace and teach them how to become entrepreneurs and leaders,” the court documents said. READ MORE

FOR ALL OF THE UPDATES ON THE EDDIE LONG CASE CLICK HERE