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COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar staunchlydenied Sunday that he punched and choked his 15-year-old daughterin an argument, telling his congregation the allegations made in apolice 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 policecharged him with misdemeanor counts of simple battery and crueltyto children. The pastor got an enthusiastic ovation from the packed church as hetook the pulpit Sunday at the World Changers Church Internationalin metro Atlanta. He addressed the criminal charges head-on forseveral minutes before moving on to his sermon. "I want you all to hear personally from me that all is well in theDollar household," Dollar said. The 50-year-old Dollar is one of the most prominentAfrican-American preachers based around Atlanta, with 30,000members in the Atlanta area and a ministry of satellite churchesacross the U.S. He was arrested after his 15-year-old daughter called 911 at about1 a.m. Friday and told a Fayette County sheriff's deputy that sheand her father argued when he said she couldn't go to a party. Apolice report says the girl told a deputy her father charged ather, put his hands around her throat, began to punch her andstarted hitting her with his shoe. The deputy noted a scratch onher neck. The report said the deputy also interviewed Dollar's 19-year-olddaughter, who said her father grabbed her sister's shoulders andslapped her in the face and choked her for about five seconds. Shesaid her sister tried to break free, but did not fight back. Whenher father threw the 15-year-old on the floor, the older girl ranto get her mother. Dollar's wife, Taffi, told the deputy she didnot see the fight. Dollar launched into a lengthy denial of the allegations from thepulpit Sunday. "The truth is that a family conversation with our youngest daughtergot emotional," he said. "And emotions got involved and thingsescalated from there." He said the mark on his daughter's neck had been there for about 10years and was caused by a skin condition, eczema. "The truth is she was not choked, she was not punched. There werenot any scratches on her neck," Dollar said. "But the only thing onher neck was a prior skin abrasion from eczema. Anything else isexaggeration and sensationalism." Dollar's 15-year-old daughter is the one who called authorities andtold them her father punched and choked her. Her 19-year-old sistercorroborated the story. But Dollar didn't publicly display anyanger toward his children. "I will never put any fault on my children, as Jesus would neverput any fault on me," he said. Dollar's wife, Taffi, is a co-pastor at the church. She addressedthe congregation before her husband but did not touch on theallegations. Dollar's congregation appeared supportive Sunday, giving himsustained applause as he took the stage. As he spoke, people in thesanctuary yelled encouragement: "We love you!" and "We've got yourback!" As he talked about the difficulty dealing with teenagechildren in a "culture of disrespect," many in the crowd nodded inagreement. Members of the church seemed to close ranks around Dollar evenbefore he addressed them from the pulpit Sunday. Dozens of peopleapproached by The Associated Press as they arrived for the servicedeclined to comment, and the few who did expressed support. Afterthe service, many were still reluctant to comment, but those whodid said they were satisfied with their pastor's comments. "When I first heard what he was accused of, I didn't believe it. Iknew there had to be more to the story," said Phyllissa Wolley, 23,a daycare worker who has attended the church for about five years."I felt like he addressed the accusations today, and I believe whathe said. To hear from him personally, I really appreciated that. Iwas glad to hear his side of the story." Others said the media blew the accusations out of proportionwithout having all the facts and they felt vindicated after hearingDollar speak. "I think you're looking at a bunch of sensationalism," said GeorgeBlake of Ellenwood, adding that he thought the media rushed to tellthe story without knowing the full story. The 49-year-old said henever questioned his pastor of eight years. "It's not up to me to me to be satisfied with what he had to say,"Blake said. "This is a man of God spreading the word of God." Dollar, who has five children, is a native of College Park and sayshe received a vision for the church in 1986. He held the firstservice in front of eight people in an elementary school cafeteria.His ministry grew quickly and the church moved into its presentlocation, an 8,500-seat sanctuary, on Dec. 24, 1995. Dollar said in a 2007 interview with The Associated Press that herenounced his church salary, and his income only comes frompersonal investments, including a real estate residential propertybusiness and horse breeding company called Dollar Ranch. He's alsopublished more than 30 books, focusing mostly on family and lifeissues, including debt management. He said he also sometimes got up to $100,000 for a singleappearance on his packed schedule of speaking engagements. Along with Bishop Eddie Long, Dollar is one of the most prominentAfrican-American preachers based around Atlanta who have builtsuccessful ministries on the prosperity gospel, which teaches thatGod wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. 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