A 28-year-old former Colorado youth pastor has been charged with multiple felony child sex assault charges, according to police in Thornton, Colorado—a suburb of Denver.

Police arrested Joshua Lucero, a now-former young adult pastor at Word Alive Church in Thornton, on March 25, a department news release stated.

Lucero — who goes by “Josh” on social media — was charged with “sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust” by the state’s 17th Judicial District Attorney’s office, the police statement added. No specifics of the alleged assault or a description of the alleged victim were disclosed by police. 

Lucero is one of two adult children of Word Alive senior pastors Randy and Veronica Lucero. 

Jan Martin, who said she was an elder on the Word Alive Church board in 2021, posted on Facebook that she “was asked to protect the pastor’s son who admitted to sexually assaulting a minor.”

She wrote, “As a Christian, I could not condone these actions. I resigned from my position and filed a police report with the Thornton Police Department in 2021.”

Kylynn McTague, public information officer for Thornton Police told The Roys Report (TRR) that while charges were first reported to the department in 2021, the “victim didn’t want to move forward at that time,” but changed their mind this year.

Lucero was booked into Adams County jail on Tuesday and initially held without bond. In an email to TRR, criminal defense attorney Chloe Gleichman of the Colorado Legal Defense Group in Denver said Lucero posted a $25,000 cash/surety bond and was released Wednesday.

Gleichman said she had arranged for Lucero to “self-surrender” to the Thornton Police Department on Tuesday afternoon.

“Mr. Lucero adamantly maintains his innocence and denies the allegations,” Gleichman said via email. “While a sensational headline, we ask members of the public to reserve judgment and let the process play out in court.”

She said her client was no longer a staff member at Word Alive Church.

Word Alive Church, a “spirit-filled church, non-denomination (sic), full-gospel fellowship” in Thornton, 12 miles north of Denver, did not respond to a voicemail and an email from TRR seeking comment.

Lucero’s alleged crimes took place between July 2017 and July 2020, police said, “while Lucero was a youth pastor overseeing juveniles aged 13 to 18. Detectives believe there may be additional victims and encourage anyone with information to come forward” by contacting the department’s tip line at (720) 977-5069, the news release stated.

Interim police chief Greg Reeves said, “Protecting the vulnerable in our community is one of our most important responsibilities. We’re asking anyone with information to come forward so justice can be served.”

Lucero deleted his Facebook account, but as of March 13, he was still included in social media posts from the church’s young adult ministry.

According to Jan Martin, “two other Board members also resigned” with her in 2021, “while others chose to keep this terrible secret.”

She added, “That church needs to be closed, and their funds need to be seized.  It is NOT a house of worship but a house of lies and den of thieves.”

Martin did not respond to a message left on a number listed as her home telephone, nor to a message sent via Facebook Messenger requesting an interview.

The Denver Post reported Lucero is expected to appear in court again on Friday.

Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.