RUCKERSVILLE (VA)
The Daily Progress [Charlottesville VA]
June 11, 2024
By Gracie Hart Brooks
Rodney Locklear was a pastor at Victory Church where he led a children’s Bible study
A Greene County grand jury has indicted a Ruckersville pastor already charged with child sex crimes with three additional charges.
Rodney Martin Locklear, 47, was indicted in Madison County Circuit Court on March 4 on six crimes against children: abduction of a minor, sexually penetrating a minor with an object, three counts of indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges stem from incidents that occurred in 2023, according to authorities. Those six charges were transferred to the Greene County Circuit Court in May.
On Monday, a Greene County grand jury indicted Locklear on additional charge: one count of abduction with the intent to defile and two counts of aggravated sexual battery by force of a 13- or 14-year-old. According to court records, the charges stem from incidents that occurred in May 2023.
In February, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office announced it was investigating Locklear after he was taken into custody and charged with abduction with intent to defile and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child between the ages of 13 and 14.
According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Locklear led children’s Bible study classes at Victory Church on Wednesdays. He had been a pastor there for six years and, before that, a pastor at Abundant Life Church.
Locklear is currently out of jail on a $20,000 secured bond. He was previously being held at the Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange. Per the terms of the bond, he must remain in his home except for court proceedings and probation meetings; is on GPS monitoring; can have no contact with the victim or their family, household members or witnesses; cannot have any contact with a minor other than his son; can have no firearms or destructive devices in the home; cannot consume alcohol, drugs, marijuana or its derivatives; and cannot be on the internet or possess internet-connected devices.
An investigation into Locklear is ongoing. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information to contact authorities at (434) 939-7914 or (434) 566-2813. A status hearing has been set for July 22 on all nine charges.