Former Lubbock Youth Pastor Faces 16 New Charges of Child Sexual Abuse

A former youth pastor in Lubbock who was arrested last year for alleged child sexual abuse is facing new charges after a Lubbock Grand Jury reindicted him this week. Over a year ago, Luke Cunningham was indicted on multiple charges from accusations from two different children across three years around 2017 and 2018 according to news reports.

Former Lubbock, Texas Youth Pastor Faces Additional Charges

According to ChurchLeaders.com, Luke Cunningham was reindicted on 16 counts of child sexual abuse. The new charges are not from new accusers, but from assaults that allegedly took place between 2017 and 2019.

At the time of his arrest, Cunningham worked as a youth pastor at Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas. However, the alleged abuse took place when he was a youth pastor at Turning Point Community Church.

Cunningham First Arrested in 2024

Luke Cunningham was arrested in June of 2024 and charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child. After more investigative work was completed, Cunningham now faces 16 new counts of sexual assault of a child.

According to KCBD, Cunningham remains in the Lubbock County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.

According to ChurchLeaders.com, Cunningham would manipulate his victims by telling them he would leave his wife once the victim turned 18. He would also allegedly act violently towards the victims.

At a hearing following Cunningham’s arrest, Lubbock County Assistant District Attorney Cassie Graham argued that Cunningham had a long history of alleged abuse of teen girls and had been accused of acting violently, slapping and strangling victims until they lost consciousness.

This is a developing story.