Creflo Dollar arrested, charged with cruelty to children

[Buzzard]

http://www.ajc.com/news/fayette/police- ... 54550.html

One of my favorite megachurch "ministers" seems to have taken his parental discipline too far when he choked his 15 year old daughter.

For those not familiar with this awesome POS...

http://www.creflodollarministries.org/

Douche

[fakepigtails73]

Why am I not surprised? Looked like a douche from an article I read on him.

Is his last name from birth? Talk about a predestined name if it's his real one, with "Dollar" as a last name it sure helps to sell "money-oriented" theology.

[Buzzard]

They just Had him on the news and he said he was "disciplining his child". Yeah... Because choking is appropriate... The 19 year old corroborated that he choked the 15 year old.

Not sure if that's his name from birth. Probably is...

[AtroposHeart]

ATLANTA — Megachurch pastor and televangelist Creflo Dollar was arrested early Friday after authorities say he slightly hurt his 15-year-old daughter in a fight at his metro Atlanta home.

Fayette County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call of domestic violence at the home in unincorporated Fayette County around 1 a.m., Investigator Brent Rowan said. The 50-year-old pastor and his daughter were arguing over whether she could go to a party when Dollar "got physical" with her, leaving her with "superficial injuries," Rowan said.

Dollar faces misdemeanor charges of simple battery and cruelty to children. He bonded out of Fayette County jail Friday morning.

"As a father I love my children and I always have their best interest at heart at all times, and I would never use my hand to ever cause bodily harm to my children," Dollar said in a statement released by his lawyer Nikki Bonner. "The facts in this case will be handled privately to further protect my children. My family thanks you for your prayers and continued support."

Dollar will make no further comments since he's involved in an ongoing criminal matter, but he is expected to preach Sunday, Bonner said.

Dollar leads Creflo Dollar Ministries and is the pastor for World Changers Church International in College Park, which serves nearly 30,000 members, according to the church's website. World Changers Church-New York hosts over 6,000 worshippers each week, the website says. There are also four satellite churches in Georgia and others in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Washington, Cleveland, Dallas and Houston.

He and his wife Taffi, a co-pastor at the church, have five children, according to the website.

Known for his pinstriped suits and charismatic sermons, Dollar was among a group of high-profile ministers whom Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley urged in 2007 to answer questions about their spending, board oversight and involvement in for-profit businesses.

The six televangelists targeted in the investigation preach some form of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. Ministers in this tradition often hold up their own wealth as evidence that the teaching works.

Dollar resisted answering questions, comparing Grassley's inquiries into church governance with questioning churchgoers about their prayers and confessions. The investigation wrapped up in January 2011 with no penalties for the pastors who refused to cooperate and no definitive findings of wrongdoing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/megachurch-pastor-creflo-dollar_n_1581292.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

[Kitty]

I think choking someone is causing bodily harm. Fuck you, Creflo.

[QAF_Rocks]

The report says Dollar choked his daughter, then threw her to the ground, punched her and hit her with his shoe. The responding officer noticed a scratch on the daughter's neck near her throat; the daughter said her father gave her the scratch during the fight.

When police interviewed Dollar, he said he tried to restrain his daughter when she "became very disrespectful" after he told her she couldn't go to the party, according to the report. Dollar admitted to spanking his daughter and wrestling her to the floor, but said it was because she hit him.

Nice guy. :|

And if you want to be even more depressed, you can read the comments of all the people defending his behavior:

http://www.11alive.com/comments/244082/40/Creflo-Dollar-arrested-for-assaulting-daughter

[Elle]

I thought the name was a nickname.

Isn't this church the one with infomercials that tell you to send the church some money with a prayer written on a piece of paper, and it'll be answered, with people claiming they did it and thousands appeared in their bank accounts?

[AtroposHeart]

Nice guy. :|

And if you want to be even more depressed, you can read the comments of all the people defending his behavior:

http://www.11alive.com/comments/244082/40/Creflo-Dollar-arrested-for-assaulting-daughter

Top comment has been submitted to FSDT, thanks for the link

[Sumeri]

Asshat.

Am I reading correctly that his wife's name is Taffy Dollar? How unfortunate.

[shesinsane]

"As a father I love my children and I always have their best interest at heart at all times, and I would never use my hand to ever cause bodily harm to my children," Dollar said in a statement released by his lawyer Nikki Bonner. "The facts in this case will be handled privately to further protect my children. My family thanks you for your prayers and continued support."

What about plumbing line?

[treemom]

Those comments were really sort of disheartening.

[justlurking]

Last I checked "choking" was considered a form of assault, NOT discipline. Wonder how Creflo would feel/react if the police who came to discipline arrest him agreed that choking was an appropriate action to deal with someone whose done something wrong, and handled him in a similar manner. I'm sure the stupid idiots who made comments in agreement with Creflo's actions would instead be screaming about police brutality.

[Jezebel Duggar]

Why am I not surprised? Looked like a douche from an article I read on him.

Is his last name from birth? Talk about a predestined name if it's his real one, with "Dollar" as a last name it sure helps to sell "money-oriented" theology.

According to Wikipedia, his name is Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr. - so, yes it apparently is his birth name. It also mentions that he owns two Rolls Royces, a private jet, a million dollar home in Atlanta, and a 2.5 million dollar home in Manhattan.

Edited for typo.

[fakepigtails73]

the comments are sick for the most part.

There seems to be lots of physical abuse there. Some are saying he didn't beat her enough!! :o :o

[TheSassyOne]

I read this earlier this morning on another site. Sadly, my first thought on seeing the name was, "is this a rapper"?

~hangs my head in shame, I am soooooooooooooooooooo out of the loop~

I was also shocked at the majority of comments at that website. Mainly along the lines of it being a shame that parents can't discipline their children without the law becoming involved and that when he was released from jail, he should beat her some more for calling the police!

I just don't understand that way of thinking. I know many here don't even like the idea of spanking a child, but my Lord how is choking anyone, much less your child, ever okay? My next thought was to wonder if this family followed the Pearls philosophy regarding discipline of children.

[saraelise]

"As a father I love my children and I always have their best interest at heart at all times, and I would never use my hand to ever cause bodily harm to my children," Dollar said in a statement

Why do people always word their press releases in this way? The evidence says you did, so stop lying. If you want to cover your ass, say it was a "mistake" or something.

[maybeizfundie]

Honestly I can't say I'm surprised by some of the comments, for two reasons.

1. Creflo Dollar is basically a cult leader. He's wealthy, he's charismatic, he promises the faithful health and wealth...He can do *no* wrong in their eyes.

2. Many of the people his style appeals to have a nostalgia for the "old school" way of doing things, even for the ass-whippings they got from their parents. Not talking about a swat or two here and there but the belt-whippings and beatings that could do serious bodily harm.

I'm not really surprised that beating/choking a teenage daughter is being defended by some, and explained away by others ("clearly she was being disrespectful and hitting him, he was just defending himself"--because a huge meatloaf like him needs to resort to extreme physical violence in self-defense against a teenage girl, ya know.) The "health and wealth" crowd (name-it-and-claim-it, blab-it-and-grab-it, etc) are kind of their own little niche and aren't much alike with the ATI/VF fundies, but the extremity some of them take it to is about the same level as other extreme Christian fundamentalists.

[Angri-la]

My husband read me the headline, and I knew it was Dollar. Very sad.

I cannot say I am surprised. When men are given total dominion, and build their little Patriarchy fantasy lands, I really think they believe they are above any reproach, even the laws of man and God. This is one of those "cult of money" mega Churches, and I sincerely hope this begins some serious investigations on the National Level.

[NurseNell]

Why am I not surprised? Looked like a douche from an article I read on him.

Is his last name from birth? Talk about a predestined name if it's his real one, with "Dollar" as a last name it sure helps to sell "money-oriented" theology.

And a woman pastor named Taffi? Thanks, I'll pass on this "church".

[fakepigtails73]

Why do people always word their press releases in this way? The evidence says you did, so stop lying. If you want to cover your ass, say it was a "mistake" or something.

There is a woman in the comments who posted that she never uses her hands to discipline her daughter but that she often uses a belt on her buttocks!! :shock: As if that's any better!

Is child abuse common in African-American families? 80% of the commenters are black, and it seems like out of those 9 outta 10 are in favour of Creflo here. I'm sure that if he was "Creflo Dollar, a plumber from Atlanta"instead of a celebrity preacher (shyster is more like it) he wouldn't get that much support.

Could it also be a general distrust of the police and the authorities in general?

[NurseNell]

Is child abuse common in African-American families? 80% of the commenters are black, and it seems like out of those 9 outta 10 are in favour of Creflo here. I'm sure that if he was "Creflo Dollar, a plumber from Atlanta"instead of a celebrity preacher (shyster is more like it) he wouldn't get that much support.

Could it also be a general distrust of the police and the authorities in general?

I lived in a heavily African American neighborhood when I owned my house in St. Paul. I wouldn't say abuse is common but corporal punishment is. Several neighbors said it was better back in the days when anyone in the neighborhood could discipline a misbehaving child. Not that the neighbor would touch the child but they would yell at the child, call the other parent, then the parent would administer the punishment, which was often corporal. As a school nurse I didn't report African American children at a higher rate than white children. The one group where I saw very little abuse was the Asian community, whether Hmong or VietNamese. When they first started coming here as refugees there was misunderstanding about the use of coining, which leaves bruises and families were getting reported. There were major education programs to teach about coining and other Hmong traditions, after which reporting on bruises from coining went away.

[SamuraiKatz]

Nice guy. :|

And if you want to be even more depressed, you can read the comments of all the people defending his behavior:

http://www.11alive.com/comments/244082/40/Creflo-Dollar-arrested-for-assaulting-daughter

:roll: There is no excuse for beating your kid.

[NurseNell]

:roll: There is no excuse for beating your kid.

Reminds me of that judge in Texas who beat his daughter.

[Koala]

Christ I wish I hadn't read those comments.

[SamuraiKatz]

Reminds me of that judge in Texas who beat his daughter.

Wonder what happened to the judge...off to search the google....