As his trial date nears, a former Lubbock youth pastor accused of child sex abuse crimes, Luke Cunningham, 42, was re-indicted on Tuesday. He was indicted for 16 counts of Sexual Assault of a Child Bigamy.
Officials confirmed Cunningham’s trial was scheduled for December 1.
Cunningham was arrested on June 19, 2024, in the 1400 block of 15th Street in Shallowater. He was initially indicted for one count of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault of a child. One of the initial charges said Cunningham was accused of sexually assaulting a child in January of 2016 and January of 2018. For the other, Cunningham was accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile in October of 2018.
Officials with the District Attorney’s office said the new indictment was tied to the same incidents. The new indictments did not involve new allegations or new victims, officials told EverythingLubbock.com. However, the new indictment detailed 16 separate incidents of sexual assault involving two victims from September to December of 2018. Court documents said both of the victims were under the age of 17.
Cunningham, a former youth pastor at Turning Point, was involved with two churches in Lubbock. He was most recently involved with Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury. Authorities in court previously said Cunningham had some more allegations dating back to 2013. A detective in a previous court appearance said Cunningham had admitted to a certain level of abuse of one of the teenagers.
As of Wednesday, Cunningham remained at the Lubbock County Detention Center on bonds totaling $400,000.
