COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) - Megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar staunchly denied Sunday that he punched and choked his 15-year-old daughter in an argument, telling his congregation the allegations made in a police report are nothing but "exaggeration and sensationalism."
"I will say this emphatically: I should have never been arrested," Dollar said in his first public appearance two days after police charged him with misdemeanor counts of simple battery and cruelty to children.
The pastor got an enthusiastic ovation from the packed church as he took the pulpit Sunday at the World Changers Church International in metro Atlanta. He addressed the criminal charges head-on for several minutes before moving on to his sermon.
"I want you all to hear personally from me that all is well in the Dollar household," Dollar said.
Dollar is one of the most prominent African-American preachers based around Atlanta, with 30,000 members in the Atlanta area and a ministry of satellite churches across the U.S.
He was arrested after his 15-year-old daughter called 911 at about 1 a.m. Friday and told a Fayette County sheriff's deputy that she and her father argued when he said she couldn't go to a party. A police report says the girl told a deputy her father charged at her, put his hands around her throat, began to punch her and started hitting her with his shoe. The deputy noted a scratch on her neck.
The report said the deputy also interviewed Dollar's 19-year-old daughter, who said her father grabbed her sister's shoulders and slapped her in the face and choked her for about five seconds. She said her sister tried to break free, but did not fight back. When her father threw the 15-year-old on the floor, the older girl ran to get her mother. Dollar's wife, Taffi, told the deputy she did not see the fight.
Dollar launched into a lengthy denial of the allegations from the pulpit Sunday.
"The truth is that a family conversation with our youngest daughter got emotional," he said. "And emotions got involved and things escalated from there."
He said the mark on his daughter's neck had been there for about 10 years and was caused by a skin condition, eczema.
"The truth is she was not choked, she was not punched. There were not any scratches on her neck," Dollar said.
"But the only thing on her neck was a prior skin abrasion from eczema. Anything else is exaggeration and sensationalism."
Dollar's congregation appeared supportive Sunday, giving him sustained applause as he took the stage. As he spoke, people in the sanctuary yelled encouragement: "We love you!" and "We've got your back!"
As he talked about the difficulty dealing with teenage children in a "culture of disrespect," many in the crowd nodded in agreement.