"I want you all to hear personally from me that all is well in the Dollar household,"
Pastor Creflo Dollar said in his first public appearance two days after police charged him with misdemeanor counts of
simple battery and cruelty to children.
The religious advocate took to the pulpit to staunchly deny that he
punched and choked his 15-year-old daughter in an argument, telling his
congregation that allegations made in a police report are nothing but
"exaggeration and sensationalism." While Dollar got an enthusiastic
ovation, he address the criminal charges head-on for several minutes
before moving on to his sermon. "The truth is that a family conversation
with our youngest daughter got emotional," he said. "And emotions got
involved and things escalated from there."
The Fayette County police department has released the 911 call in the Creflo Dollar “simple battery, family violence and cruelty to children” case. In the recording, his 15-year-old daughter calmly states that she’s “scared and [doesn't] know what to do,” reports 11Alive.com.
Advertisement
“It was not the first time it’s happened,” said Lauren Dollar. She also reiterated that statement in the police report.
Lauren also stated that he “punched” and “choked” her during the incident. Her sister, Alexandria, 19, confirmed her version of events in an initial report. When asked to write down her statement, however, she changed her words. Deputies assert it was “due to her parents being outside with her while she was writing it.” In the incident report, deputies claim that once she was separated from her father and mother, Taffi Dollar, she again confirmed her sister’s statements.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Alexandria said her father “put both hands around her sister’s neck and choked her for about five seconds.” Then, she said, the 50-year-old pastor “grabbed [her sister by] the shoulders and slapped her in the face.”
Even though he admitted to “restraining” his daughter after she became verbally “disrespectful,” apparently Dollar wants the world to believe that both of his daughters are lying on him and the “devil is trying to discredit him”:
“I want you to hear it personally from me: All is well in the Dollar household,” he said after receiving a standing ovation from his congregation on Sunday. “A family conversation with our youngest daughter got emotional. Things escalated from there. I should have never been arrested,” he said.
Quoting the Bible, Dollar then wished ill on people speaking against him, presumably even his daughters:
“Malicious witnesses testify against me,” he said, reading from Psalms 35 in the Old Testament. “They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about … May those who rejoice in my discomfort be humiliated and disgraced.”