Trial opens for Fannin County Youth Pastor

By Sean Larsen
KXII
September 01, 2015

http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Trial-opens-for-Fannin-County-Youth-Pastor-323774151.html

BONHAM, Texas -- The trial of Lyle Huddlestun, 43, began Monday with opening arguments.

Huddlesten is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child under 17 years of age.

Bonham police officer Terry Bee testified saying these 20 to 22 incidents happened between 2007 and 2009 in Huddlestun's home.

The victim reported these allegations to authorities in 2013, claiming the incidents happened when he was 13 or 14 years old.

Bee says Huddlesten denied the allegations when interviewed, and says there were always other boys around.

Those other boys, who came over for Bible studies and sleepovers, are considered witnesses and have been forensically interviewed.

Forensic interviewing is a first step in most child protective services (CPS) investigations. It's when professional interviews a child to find out if he or she has been mistreated. In addition to yielding the information needed to make a determination about whether abuse or neglect has occurred, this approach may produce evidence that will stand up in court if the investigation leads to criminal prosecution.

The defense says Huddlesten's wife was home at the time of these alleged sexual assaults and questioned Bonham PD for not investigating the crime scene.

Bee says this was because another family had moved into the residence and they didn't think there would be accurate DNA evidence.

Huddlesten was a youth minister at Boyd Baptist Church in Bonham and a Bonham ISD substitute teacher.