One of Eddie Long's Accusers Speaks to the Press

I've worked on cases involving men this age who have been victimized by pastors. I've seen accused persons, confirmed perpetrators and victims professionally.  I've even been present at confrontations between victims and perpetrators.  This young man's presentation eerily echoes what I've heard from victims in case after case.  They are almost always palpably indignant; they refer to the smell of the perpetrator, the showers that never get them clean and the crying.  They talk about the perpetrator being unable to look them in the eye while denying the accusation.  And they frequently use the word "monster" to describe the perpetrator.  No other word is adequate to convey the depth of the mind-effing cruelty they've experienced.  The only piece that's missing is the porn.  If the accusations are true, there will likely be a prominent place for porn in these stories.

There is a tendency to imagine that men above the age of legal consent must bear some responsibility for what has happened, but as the young man in this video explains, personal history with the accused--a profound emotional (and sometimes material) dependency on the accused--makes it exceedingly difficult to resist any demands, no matter how deeply troubling.  I must admit that when I first encountered these cases I was surprised that young adults would not put a stop to such behavior, but, for most of them, there is no other life that matters beyond the religious life rooted in their relationship with the pastor.

I know false accusations occur and that possibility cannot be ruled out in this case.  But it's rare, in my experience, to see so many false accusations leveled against one innocent individual. It seems to me that if the accusations are false there would be some sort of conspiracy occurring.  If Long is being falsely accused, I would expect the accusers' stories to fall apart under the close scrutiny that will occur when Long, these men and others are deposed--if it goes that far.

Update

It occurred to me that some readers might not be familiar with this story. Here's a report from ABC News.

 

Comments

[Dick Andre]

Yes, the "young men" were above the age of consent. The age of consent is only 16 in Georgia. They were kids.

Why did Eddie Long photograph himself in a bathroom wearing revealing clothes?

What kind of "bishop" sends photos like that to children in his youth group?

[JOYCE]

What is done in the dark comes to light.Single mothers should not be so easy to let thier kids take up with no one even some family members had sexual problems with family members.Eddie Long lost me when he had a sermon on the buddist member Tiger Woods.These things happen because everyone has some issue that has not been dealt with since childhood.This is like aids awareness but no one talks about it until they or someone close to home gets caught up.This is a huge Blow to the KINGDOM.Every one in this mess needs an identity check.GOD BLESS AMERICA our HOME SWEET HOME.