Thaindian News

September 25, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Now a fourth member has come forward claiming to have been coerced into a sexual relationship by Bishop Eddy Long. The member of the mega church is suing the reputed pastor for his offense.

Spencer LeGrande, a member of the New Birth Charlotte has filed a lawsuit. The New Birth Charlotte has been serving as a satellite church in Charlotte, North Carolina under Bishop Long.

The lawsuit stated that the 17 year old Spencer LeGrande had been taken along for a trip to Kenya by Long. The Bishop had promised to be his dad and had engaged in sexual acts after giving LeGrande a sleeping pill.

B.J. Bernstein, the attorney dealing with the case has said that all four of the victims were willing to be identified publicly. The lawsuit filed by LeGrande goes on to say that the Bishop had claimed that engaging in sexual acts with him will serve as a healthy component of his spiritual life. The plaintiff has also released a few pictures of the Bishop taken by a cellphone which were apparently sent to all the accusers.

LeGrande, who has turned 22 now, says that both them had continued their relationship all through a trip to South Africa in 2006 and he had relocated to Atlanta soon after. The move had also been encouraged by Long who had urged LeGrande not to have any girl friends. LeGrande, however, claims to have been disillusioned with the whole affair and had returned to Charlotte after ending the relationship.

The case has been filed at the DeKalb State Court and comes after three other similar suits that had been filed on Wednesday and Thursday. They all said that Bishop Long had abused his authority and seduced them with material riches and international trips in exchange for sexual favors.

Long will be making his first ever public speech on Sunday after being accused. He had denied the accusation so far via his attorney as well as his tweets posted on the Internet. His lawyer, Craig Gillen, however, failed to return a call seeking his comments on the matter.