The Bishop Eddie Long sexual coercion saga continues to play out in the court of public opinion as the third accuser, 23 year old Jamal Parris breaks his silence on the man he calls a 'monster' to Atlanta's Fox 5 News.
Fox 5 tracked down Parris in his home state of Colorado as he was grocery shopping. At first apprehensive to speak to the media Parris quickly opened up about what he recalls as the most painful period in his life.
"I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head, I cannot forget the smell of his cologne and I cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when I drove in his cars on the way home," said Parris.
"What you have to understand is this man manipulated us from childhood", he added.
Fox 5 gave Parris an opportunity to speak directly to Long on camera and in one of the most heartbreaking moments of the interview he had this to say: "That man cannot look me in the eye and tell me we did not live this pain. While you can sit in front of the church and tell them that you categorically deny it, you can't say that to our face," he said. "And you know this. You are not a man. You are a monster."
Parris says the anti-gay mega-church pastor seduced him and used Scripture to justify male-to-male sexual activity, a story that echoes the other three victims.
Bishop Long vaguely addressed the growing scandal last Sunday during two heavily attended worship services at New Birth but never proclaimed his innocence.
"There have been allegations and attacks made on me. I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. But I am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. That's not me", Long said to thunderous applause.
"I want you to know, as I said earlier, that I am not a perfect man. But this thing, I'm going to fight," he said. "I feel like David against Goliath, but I've got five rocks and I haven't thrown one yet", he added and exited stage left with his wife in tow.
Parris' sincere interview has given some New Birth members reason to pause as it should. There's not to many black men willing to admit publicly they've been sexually abused by another man if there wasn't an ounce of truth behind the incident.
Watch Jamal Parris' interview below:
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