A North Texas pastor was arrested on charges of sexual assault on Thursday.
Rev. Ronnie Goines surrendered to the Tarrant County jail after the Arlington Police Department (APD) issued two warrants for his arrest.
APD’s Sex Crimes Unit opened an investigation into the 51-year-old in June when a woman made allegations against him.
The details of these alleged assaults have not been made public. However, investigators, in conjunction with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, filed two counts of criminal charges against Goines — one for indecent assault and another for sexual assault.
According to jail records, Goines was released from custody after posting bonds of $20,000 for the sexual assault charge and $3,000 for the indecent assault charge.
Goines has been a notable figure in the community. He is the founding pastor of Koinonia Christian Church in Arlington and the founder of the IMPACT Center, a nonprofit that forms partnerships with other organizations to spark change. He also owns All Things Life Insurance Agency.
So far, none of Goines’ organizations has released a comment regarding his arrest.
His work has also involved participating in municipal affairs. He previously served on the City of Arlington’s Unity Council and in APD’s Arlington Clergy and Police Partnership program. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Mountain View College.
The investigation into the allegations against Goines is still ongoing, and anyone with relevant information is urged to contact Det. Williams at (817) 459-5312.
The latest available crime data for Arlington shows that 410 sex offenses were reported between January and November 2023. Roughly half (223) were rapes.
For comparison, over the same period, 753 sex offenses (including 352 rapes) were clocked in Dallas, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. As of July 25, there have been 368 reports of sex crimes this year.
Both this year and last year, Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 led all other Dallas council districts in these offenses. The northwestern area of Dallas is also known for the illicit sex trade, which has been the target of several operations by the Dallas Police Department this year.
However, DPD has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage. There are approximately 3,000 officers serving in its ranks, which falls 1,000 short of the roughly 4,000 recommended by a City report. DPD recently had to rethink the way victims of sexual assault could file reports after heavy delays led to considerable frustration and even walkouts.
Nevertheless, Dallas City leaders allocated DPD a budget of $654 million this fiscal year, which is much less than the sums directed toward law enforcement in other high-crime jurisdictions.