Pastor Creflo Dollar arrested for assaulting daughter
Megachurch pastor and televangelist Creflo Dollar – who has drawn scrutiny for his flashy lifestyle and preaching that prosperity is good – 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., said investigator Brent Rowan. The 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.
The 15-year-old was the one who called authorities, and her 19-year-old sister corroborated the story, 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 the ongoing criminal matter, but he is expected to preach Sunday, Bonner said.
Creflo Dollar.
Even before controversial megachurch pastor Creflo A. Dollar Jr. released a statement Friday denying he assaulted his 15-year-old daughter, the College Park minister’s legion of supporters rushed to his defense.
“It’s just something that’s been blown out of proportion” – said Randi Garrett, a longtime member of Dollar’s World Changers Church International. “Kids misconstrue things, and they take them out of context.”
But Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies say they found ample evidence to charge the prominent televangelist and author with simple battery, family violence and cruelty to children.
Dollar’s 15-year-old daughter alleged her father grabbed her by the throat in the family’s home on Sandy Creek Road in Fayette County, pushed her to the ground and then beat her with his shoe, according to the incident report. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not identifying the girl because she is a minor.
The lone witness to Friday morning’s altercation, Dollar’s 19-year-old daughter Alexandria, confirmed her sibling’s account, telling deputies their father “put both hands around her sister’s neck and choked her for about five seconds” – the incident report said.
Alexandria Dollar said she then saw Dollar grab her little sister by the shoulders and slap her in the face. She says her sister tried to break free but was thrown to the ground, at which point Alexandria ran to get her mother, Taffi, whose arrival in the kitchen ended the fight, the incident report states.
The 50-year-old leads the Creflo Dollar Ministries and is the pastor for World Changers Church International in the Atlanta suburb of 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. Four satellite churches are located in Georgia along with 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.
Dollar is a native of College Park and says he received a vision for World Changers Ministries Christian Center in 1986.
He held the first service, in front of only eight people, in the cafeteria of Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School in College Park, the website says.
His ministry grew quickly, moved into a modest-sized chapel and was renamed World Changers Church International.
The church moved into its present location, an 8.500-seat sanctuary called the World Dome, on Christmas eve 1995.
Dollar said in a 2007 interview with The Associated Press that he renounced his salary from the church, and his income only comes from personal investments, including a real estate residential property business and horse breeding company called Dollar Ranch.
He’s published more than 30 books, focusing mostly on family and life issues, including debt management.
“I stopped taking a salary” – he said. “But no one ask the question: “Where are you getting your money from?” Well, I have boxes of invitations to speak. At first, I was glad to preach for anyone. What I didn’t know was I received a love offering for preaching. Back then, it was for $25 bucks. But over the years, people began to appreciate what I was bringing to them.”