Luckey granted $50,000 bond on Circuit Court appeal of J&D Court denial

Following a July 12 bond appeal hearing in Warren County Circuit Court, William Raymond Luckey was released on a secured $50,000 bond at 5:51 p.m. that afternoon, 18 days after his June 25 arrest on charges of “Indecent Liberties” and “Solicitation” of a minor child under the age of 16. Luckey was initially denied bond by Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Nancy Reed on June 30.

However, the 72-year-old, long-time Christendom College professor’s defense team out of Stafford, Virginia appealed that ruling. As noted in Royal Examiner’s July 1 story on that first bond hearing, “Defense attorney Shannon Johnson would not verify an appeal of the bond denial prior to discussion with her co-counsel Thaddeus Furlong. However, comments in the courtroom seemed to indicate an appeal is likely.”

Conditions of Luckey’s bond imposed by Circuit Court Judge William Sharp include that he has “no contact with minors without another adult within sight and sound of them” and “No contact directly or indirectly with the victim or the victim’s parents”; and Luckey is further ordered, “Not to counsel or direct or encourage any effort by anyone else to discourage victim, (the) victim’s parents, or other witnesses from cooperating with the prosecution”. He is also instructed not to leave the Commonwealth of Virginia.

William R. Luckey has been freed from RSW Jail on a secured $50,000 bond with specific conditions on his behavior and proximity to minor children. Booking Photo – RSW Jail website; RSW Jail photo – Royal Examiner File Photo

The order forbidding attempts to influence a dropping of the charges addressed Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Samantha Meadows’ concern about the content of recorded phone calls between Luckey at RSW Jail after his arrest and his wife Julie, indicating a possible effort to influence the victim’s parents into dropping the charges, which Meadows noted would be witness tampering, a crime in its own right.

As she had in J&D Court, defense counsel Johnson pointed to her client’s long and respected connections to the community – 35 years total, over 30 at Christendom College – and myriad health issues she argued would be exacerbated by continued incarceration. Those conditions include cardiac problems, high blood pressure, and the consequences of a past back injury. Johnson also contended that specifics in the Commonwealth’s case against Luckey indicate a comparatively mild incident compared to some verbiage included in the “Solicitation” warrant, reflecting the harsher side of sex abuse against minors statutes.

As reported in Royal Examiner’s coverage of the June 30 J&D Court bond hearing, responding to his wife’s taped phone conversation comment “This isn’t what happened” of specific oral or penetrative sexual acts listed in the “Solicitation” warrant, Luckey replied, “No, it doesn’t say ‘Show me your hiney’.” At the initial bond hearing, the prosecution first presented evidence indicating Luckey had offered the child ten dollars to see their posterior, which was declined. However, Meadows asserted prosecution evidence that Luckey had then placed the victim on their stomach in order to see and touch the buttocks, then leaving the ten dollars behind.

Luckey has been removed from Christendom College’s website, where he had been listed as “Professor Emeritus” following his retirement from his regular teaching position five years ago. And the chairman of the board of Padre Pio Academy out of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, where both Luckey and his wife had teaching positions, said the school, which is now in summer break, had not expected Dr. Luckey’s return due to his health issues. Julie Luckey was also said to have resigned from all of her involvement with Padre Pio Academy “to minimize negative impacts for the school” from her husband’s arrest.”

A preliminary hearing on the cases is scheduled for August 5, at 10:30 a.m. on the morning docket of Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.