Son of cyclist Lance Armstrong accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old in 2018
Luke Armstrong (Austin Police Department Photo)
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AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Luke Armstrong, son of world-famous cyclist Lance Armstrong, was arrested and accused of sexual assault of a child, according to an Austin Police Department affidavit.
The affidavit alleges Luke David Armstrong sexually assaulted a 16-year-old after a party in south Austin in June 2018 while she was intoxicated and unable to resist. He was 18 at the time, and is now 21.
Armstrong’s attorney, Randy Leavitt, denied the allegations and claimed that the two were in a consensual relationship that lasted months. He said the Armstrong family is supporting their son and is gathering evidence to present to the district attorney which disputes the victim’s claims.
“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 people with both ultimately going their separate ways,” Leavitt said. “These charges should not have been filed and certainly not three years later.”
The victim told police in November 2020 that she asked Armstrong to pick her up from the party after she had been drinking. The victim says she didn’t remember the ride in Armstrong’s truck but remembered waking up on a couch at a house where Luke lived and being sexually assaulted, the affidavit says.
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In a December 2020 phone call between the victim and Armstrong, the affidavit says Armstrong admitted to having sex with the victim at his dad’s house. Police say the assault happened at a home in the 1700 block of Windsor Road. The Austin Business Journal reported in 2018 that Lance Armstrong put a home on that block of Windsor Road on the market in March 2018 and it sold in June.
Leavitt said the claim that sexual contact between the victim and Armstrong solely occurred on that one June night is false. The attorney said that the two maintained a relationship for several months that summer.
“It wasn’t a one-time thing,” Leavitt said. “They had something of a relationship going on for a brief period of time.”
APD interviewed multiple people who were connected to the victim and had previous conversations about the incident. Most told police that the victim indicated that she was sexually assaulted. One friend, however, told police that she interpreted that the sex was consensual, the affidavit says.
The affidavit concluded there was probable cause that Armstrong committed the “offense of Sexual Assault of a Child, a 2nd degree felony….at a time when [the victim] was unconscious or unable to physically resist.”
Armstrong was granted and released on a personal recognizance bond Tuesday, Armstrong’s attorney Randy Leavitt said. The family is fully cooperating with the district attorney’s office and Leavitt said he is actively gathering evidence and witness testimonies to prove Armstrong’s innocence.
“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,” Leavitt said.
Armstrong was a walk-on member of the Rice University football team in 2018 and 2019. He opted out of the 2020 season, due to COVID-19, according to a spokesperson with Rice Athletics. Rice University confirmed Armstrong is still a student at the school.
