LUBBOCK (TX)
KCBD [Lubbock TX]
March 30, 2026
By Chelsea Collinsworth
Former Lubbock youth pastor Luke Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday morning to two counts of sexual assault child bigamy.
Cunningham was sentenced to 40 years on each count by Judge Douglas Freitage in the 140th District Court. Cunningham has 650 days of jail credit.
Cunningham pleaded guilty to two out of 16 counts. All other charges against him were dismissed. The two assaults Cunningham pleaded guilty to happened in September and October of 2018.
Judge Freitag ordered a lifetime protective order for the victims.
“As a pastor you were supposed to point people to God, but instead you tried to play God yourself,” one victim said during impact statements made to the court.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: State argues former Lubbock youth pastor is ‘violent offender’
Cunningham served as the student pastor at Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock from 2016 to 2020 then left for a church in Granbury, Texas.