VIRGINIA BEACH (VA)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
August 28, 2023
By Sarah Einselen
A Virginia megachurch pastor appeared on stage Sunday after reports that his arrest during a prostitution sting nearly two years ago will be expunged.
John D. Blanchard, pastor of Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, was arrested in October 2021 during a sting in which an officer posed online as a teenage girl offering sex at a motel.
Authorities alleged Blanchard and 16 other men had been “soliciting sex from minors.” Blanchard has denied accusations against him.
The Chesterfield County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office dropped the charges and agreed to expunge them about a year after Blanchard’s arrest. (Certain court records pertaining to Blanchard’s case can be viewed online.) But after uproar over that decision, the office appointed a special prosecutor in January this year to consider refiling charges.
That special prosecutor declared the evidence against Blanchard was “sound,” the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reported in June. But no new charges were filed because Blanchard had reportedly complied with an unwritten plea agreement — going to “specialized counseling” in exchange for having charges dropped. (The prosecutor’s office described it as “sex offender related counseling” in an email released publicly earlier this year.)
Last week, Chesterfield County Circuit Judge Steven Novey stated he “didn’t have any other choice under the law” but to expunge the charges, local TV station WVEC reported.
The Roys Report (TRR) sought comment from Blanchard’s attorney, Noel Brooks, but he did not respond.
Virginia law allows someone who was charged, but not convicted, to ask to have records of the arrest and charges sealed from public view. While expunged records are not destroyed, they do not appear in background checks run by employers or law enforcement.
Nearly all the other men charged in connection with the prostitution sting were fully prosecuted, the Virginian-Pilot reported. Attorney Tim Anderson, a former state delegate who has criticized officials’ handling of Blanchard’s prosecution, claimed none of the other defendants were offered the kind of deal Blanchard got, the newspaper previously reported.
For his part, Blanchard has not only fought the criminal charges, but also attempted to stifle criticism through civil and criminal courts.
He previously sued a woman who told police that Blanchard sexually assaulted her, but the case was reportedly dismissed. He also reportedly threatened to sue Anderson. In addition, Blanchard tried to press charges against a protestor who had demonstrated on the sidewalk outside Rock Church, but the case was reportedly dismissed.
On Sunday, four days after the judge’s ruling on expungment, Blanchard reappeared on stage at Rock Church International to offer a prayer after his wife, Robin Blanchard, preached. The couple are co-senior pastors at the church, where Robin Blanchard’s mother and Rock Church co-founder, Anne Gimenez, is also in leadership.
Rock Church did not respond when TRR asked whether Blanchard had resumed his full duties at the church. A statement the church posted in 2021 indicated Blanchard had stepped back as lead pastor and would refrain from ministerial duties “until this present situation is totally resolved.”
Blanchard had stepped away and returned to ministry multiple times, but the church has not updated its statement. A review of the church’s livestreams shows he had not been the featured speaker in recent months.
This article has been updated to include links to relevant court records.