Disgraced cycling champ Lance Armstrong’s son Luke Armstrong is facing charges of sexual assault for an incident in 2018.
Local Austin, TX ABC affiliate KUVE reported that the 21-year-old had been arrested on Tuesday in connection with a sexual assault investigation opened in November 2020. A 19-year-old woman told police that she had been assaulted in June 2018 when she was 16 years old. He was charged with the second-degree felony of sexual assault of a child and held with a bond set at $75,000 before being released some time on Wednesday.
According to KUVE, the young woman had been dating Luke, then 18, and called him to pick her up from a party after she had gotten too drunk. She had difficulty remembering the rest of the night, blacking out on the ride home and waking up on an unfamiliar couch. She told authorities she woke up to Luke on top of her and felt unable to stop the rape “because of his size.” She blacked out again during the assault and regained consciousness as Luke drove her home alongside a male friend.
Police corroborated the details of the young woman’s story with six individuals to whom she had told about the assault. These individuals and the girl’s mother all reported “behavioral changes” in her after the incident, with her mother confirming her daughter explained that Luke “had done something to her that she didn’t want” and suffered from nightmares after the fact.
KUVE also learned of a controlled call set up by police between the girl and Luke, who admitted to having what he allegedly believed to be consensual sex with her at his father’s house, though he claimed he had also been drinking despite driving to pick her up. Apparently, “he remembered her asking if they were going to have sex and said she walked to the bed herself,” per the outlet.
Law enforcement officials also consulted with the third party in the car that night, who denied Luke had been drinking, but said the young woman did not appear overly intoxicated. He claimed not to have known what happened between the pair when they entered the house until the girl later called and told him about the rape.
Luke’s attorney Randy Leavitt released a statement saying:
“A complete review of the facts will confirm what has been alleged absolutely did not occur and a proper and thorough legal process will exonerate Luke. What occurred three years ago in high school was not a crime and was not a sexual assault. It was a consensual relationship then and continued consensually between two young adults, with both ultimately going their separate ways. These charges should never have been filed, certainly not three years later. However, thankfully, the Texas court system works and will establish Luke’s innocence.”
Sadly, this kind of story is all too common. We hope justice is served appropriately in this case.
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