Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.
Baptist News Global has independently confirmed that Luke Cunningham, a former youth pastor at four Texas churches who was arrested on June 19 by United States marshals, is now the subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
BNG verified this development with multiple government and church officials who spoke on background. BNG is not disclosing additional details it has confirmed about the ongoing investigation, including the nature of the allegations, to protect the survivor’s identity and preserve the investigation’s integrity.
Luke Cunningham
When contacted for comment on BNG’s independent verification of the FBI’s involvement, Lubbock Police Department Public Information Officer Kasie Davis confirmed FBI involvement. Still, she did not provide additional details, citing a lack of information and an ongoing investigation.
This development marks a rapid escalation by law enforcement in its case against Cunningham, who currently faces three felony charges in Lubbock County. BNG also has confirmed the nature of the alleged sex crimes federal investigators are probing but is withholding this information.
Further, new information exclusively obtained by BNG, including court documents, law enforcement reports and church and government officials who spoke to BNG on background, paints a vastly different picture of the Cunningham case than the information initially provided to the public.
Why this matters
Cunnigham’s investigation by the FBI comes amid a Department of Justice probe into sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention since August 2022 and just two weeks after a trial date was set for former Southwestern Seminary administrator Matthew Queen, who was indicted by a New York grand jury on one count of obstruction of justice through falsification of records relating to an alleged act of sexual abuse by a former seminary student that was not reported to the DOJ in conjunction with a federal subpoena.
The SBC has been wrestling with how to respond to allegations of sexual abuse in its churches and institutions for three years now.
The church also had received complaints and reports from members of disconcerting conduct.
While booked in the Lubbock County Detention Center on June 20 for the initial sexual assault of a child charge, Cunningham was hit with two additional charges by prosecutors: an additional count of sexually assaulting a child and aggravated sexual assault.
In an interview with BNG, Elizabeth Boyce, general counsel and director of policy and legal for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, explained that the Texas aggravated sexual assault statute constitutes an alleged act of sexual abuse that involves 1) an act or threat of severe bodily harm or injury (such as the use of a weapon) and 2) the abuse of a child under 14 years of age.
When asked if the nature of these charges indicates separate victims, Boyce did not rule out that possibility but also noted, “It could mean either of those — that each charge relates to a different victim or that it’s the same victim with evidence of multiple instances of assault against that victim. Typically, prosecutors will bring as many charges as they think they can prove to give them options at trial, or even for plea bargaining purposes.”
New charges, church-hopping and the need for a database
The Cunningham saga began in late May when Lakeside Baptist Church of Granbury, Texas, learned of allegations of sexual misconduct Cunningham reportedly had with minors in another church, according to a statement released to church members and the media via an email newsletter BNG published June 21. The church also had received complaints and reports from members of disconcerting conduct. According to the newsletter, the church placed Cunningham on leave, launched an investigation, reported its findings to law enforcement and then turned Cunningham over to its personnel committee, which dismissed him.
In addition to Lakeside Baptist, Cunningham served Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock, North Fort Worth Baptist Church, and Agape Baptist Church (now defunct) in Fort Worth.
Cunningham currently only faces criminal charges in Lubbock County. When BNG provided clerk staff with the defendant’s name and date of birth, calls to the Hood County and Tarrant County Criminal District Court Clerk’s Office did not yield results, meaning either criminal charges have not been filed or any criminal investigation in those counties is ongoing and remains unindicted.
However, BNG has independently verified reports of allegations of misconduct from all four churches via multiple sources, including government officials, who spoke on background.
“If the Southern Baptist Convention had a working database for offenders, we would likely have never been exposed to Mr. Cunningham.”
Lakeside Baptist Church’s press release indicated they believed Cunningham was a serial offender and church-hopper. They stated the following: “If the Southern Baptist Convention had a working database for offenders, we would likely have never been exposed to Mr. Cunningham. We plan to do everything possible to encourage national leaders to exercise their spiritual responsibility, identify perpetrators in the churches and stop this from happening again.”
In June 2019, the Texas Legislature passed HB-4345, a bill affording immunity from lawsuits to charities and religious organizations that disclose “certain information regarding sexual misconduct by an employee, volunteer or independent contractor of a charitable organization” to law enforcement agencies to combat such church-hopping practices common among sexual offenders.
Texas State Rep. Scott Sanford, a Southern Baptist pastor, introduced the bill. It was drafted by former SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission General Counsel Travis Wussow. At the time, bill supporters noted 90% of sexual offenders do not have a criminal record. They emphasized the importance of churches filing reports with law enforcement agencies and notifying future employers of credibly accused abusers to keep the broader church community safe.
Lubbock Church claims ignorance
In a statement provided to BNG by Turning Point Community Church Associate Pastor JD Small on Thursday, June 20, and published in part by BNG on Friday, June 21, Small asserted that while Cunningham served on the Lubbock megachurch staff as a youth pastor, the church had received “no complaints, no allegations, nor had any suspicion of wrongdoing. All allegations that are surfacing have been brought to our attention after Luke’s employment, not during or before.”
The statement went on to read:
Currently, we have no information about these alleged incidents, no names, no descriptions of these events. We are awaiting further details from LPD.
To be clear, Turning Point’s leadership had no awareness of these alleged abuses during Luke’s time of service nor had any knowledge of allegations of previous misconduct in other churches prior to serving at Turning Point. We are devastated by these allegations and feel enormous grief for anyone who is a potential victim. Our hope is to provide any assistance we can offer to any victims of sexual abuse to find the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual peace needed to heal and move forward. We condemn any actions of sexual misconduct and certainly assault of any person, especially those under our care.
Turning Point’s statement further alleged that it first became aware of allegations against Cunningham that affected its potential members when it was contacted by Lakeside Baptist Church leadership on Monday, June 3.
BNG has obtained Cunningham’s arrest warrant and copies of two grand jury indictments via the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office in response to a Public Information Act request filed last week. These documents state that Cunningham is charged with raping one child, sexually assaulting another and sexually assaulting the same child victim while using a deadly weapon. The alleged assaults occurred in the 2016 to 2018 timeframe. Two of these alleged assaults coincided with Cunningham’s tenure at the Lubbock megachurch.
These documents state that Cunningham is charged with raping one child, sexually assaulting another and sexually assaulting the same child victim while using a deadly weapon.
Turning Point Community Church confirmed that Cunnigham was employed from 2016 to 2020 and that this timeline coincided with two charges listed in the indictments.
When asked for comment in an email on Tuesday, June 25, regarding the timeline painted by the indictments, Turning Point again denied knowledge of any accusations of misconduct: “As our church statement said, during Luke’s time of employment at TPCC, we had no awareness of any allegations.”
Warning signs: A previous DA probe
For Lakeside Baptist Church’s part, sources who spoke on background expressed dismay at newly unveiled details from Cunningham’s past.
First, BNG has independently verified that the Lubbock County District Attorney previously investigated Cunningham, although criminal charges never were brought forward.
BNG’s independent verification includes church and government officials who spoke on background. This also was verified by Turning Point Community Church, which provided the following statement:
When Pastor Mark Forrest with Lakeside Baptist Church contacted the church, Pastor Chuck expressed his surprise and concern about the allegations regarding Luke. Pastor Chuck shared with Pastor Forrest that in 2022, TPCC elders were informally provided information from an investigator that the DA was looking into allegations regarding Luke but provided no further details. A time later, the same investigator then notified our elders that the DA dropped the investigation and chose not to pursue charges.
At no point did the Lubbock County District Attorney’s office contact Pastor Chuck or our staff about an investigation into Luke Cunningham. As stated above: In 2022, TPCC elders were informally provided information from an investigator that the DA was looking into allegations regarding Luke but provided no further details. A time later, the same investigator then notified our elders that the DA dropped the investigation and chose not to pursue charges.
Turning Point also alleges that, at the time it was made aware of the existence of the DA investigation, it did not know Cunnigham had returned to local church ministry, stating the following:
When Luke resigned from TPCC, he began a career in real estate. We were unaware that he had re-entered ministry. Neither Pastor Chuck, nor any current staff, nor any elders provided an employment recommendation for Luke Cunningham to Lakeside Baptist Church. Nor do we have any documentation indicating that LBC ever contacted us asking for a recommendation or reference.
The Lubbock County criminal district clerk’s office and the Lubbock County district attorney’s office were unable to provide any further information about this previous investigation, citing common-law privacy and the lack of criminal charges from this probe.
Warning signs: A report to law enforcement and a state agency
BNG also has independently verified that while Cunningham served on staff at Turning Point, he was reported to a state agency and local law enforcement for unrelated allegations of criminal misconduct.
BNG’s independent verification includes church and government officials who spoke on background and an examination of records it exclusively obtained that listed Turning Point Community Church as Cunningham’s employer in writing.
BNG is not disclosing the precise nature of the criminal allegations made to these agencies to protect the identity of the alleged victim(s). However, it can confirm that this was an alleged crime related to children. Criminal charges never were brought forward following the report.
BNG reached out to Turning Point to inquire about its knowledge of the existence of law enforcement records during Cunningham’s tenure, how the law enforcement report’s identification of Cunningham with Turning Point coheres with the church’s assertions in its press release from last week, and why the announcement video of Cunningham’s departure had been deleted.
Again, church leaders denied any knowledge of misconduct allegations and directed any potential victims to contact law enforcement.
A pastor from Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury declined to comment on these revelations from Cunningham’s tenure at Turning Point, including Turning Point’s allegations that it has no record of providing a recommendation to Lakeside. LBC leaders emphasized the church’s grief and directed BNG to last week’s press release.
Note: This article was edited July 2 to remove a previous reference to a video about Cunningham’s departure from Turning Point Church, a video thought to have been deleted but found to still exist.
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