Police Chief Criticizes Prosecutor After Charges Dropped Against VA Megachurch Pastor Arrested in Prostitution Sting
Last year John Blanchard, lead pastor of the 4000-member Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, VA, was busted by police for trying to hook up with an underage prostitute, joining 16 other men arrested who were caught up on the sting by law enforcement. Blanchard was quickly released on bail and appeared at the church service the following Sunday, blowing a shofar from the stage and offering a prayer without addressing his arrest.
Now, with that announcement that the charges have been dropped, Chesterfield police chief has Jeffrey S. Katz come out swinging against the prosecutor, publicly criticizing them for the move. He also blasted the judge for granting Blanchard’s lawyers the motion to seal all the case records, particularly when there is so much evidence. He writes:
I have recently learned that Mr. Blanchard’s defense counsel made a motion to seal all police or court records, transcripts, and investigative records associated with this case. Our Commonwealth’s Attorney has decided to consent to render these records unavailable to the public, which – upon approval by a judge – would make sharing of these transcripts, the report, or any other documents, previously released under FOIA a crime. From my vantage point, this is bewildering.
When someone:
1. Rents a car,
2. Texts a phone number posted on a known sex worker website,
3. Solicits a “qv” (“John” lingo for a “quick visit”),
4. Makes multiple inquiries if the person he’s texting is “affiliated with law enforcement,”
5. Drives two and a half hours to a hotel and knocks on the hotel room door – as directed by our undercover “17-year-old,”I believe a jury of Chesterfield County residents deserves to weigh in on the matter of criminal culpability.
As far as the church, they are ecstatic that the charges have been dropped, releasing a statement praising his “exoneration” while noting: “We have always believed in John’s innocence. His humility and submission to those over him during this time has been a testimony to his character. He has spent the time in fasting and prayer and has invested much of his time in his family and education. We anticipate his resumption of church duties in the near future.”
This is not the first time that Blanchard was accused of being involved in some grossly abusive sexual shenanigans. We talked about this in 2019.
In June of 2018, when we were named Pulpit & Pen, we were contacted via email by a woman from Virginia named Jenna Sellers. Jenna was responding to the article Clayton Jennings: Capturing Weak Women – The Saga Continues, which reported that a young woman had come forward. She was the first of many who would later contact Pulpit & Pen with testimony about being seduced by Jennings, a traveling evangelist and internet celebrity. That particular article made reference to an influential friend named “John” that Jennings claimed to have. Jenna wondered if “John” might be John Blanchard, the “co-pastor” of Rock Church International where Clayton Jennings had recently preached.
Jenna is a former member and employee of Rock Church. The subject of Jenna’s email to Pulpit & Pen was “Sex abuse by Clayton Jennings’ spiritual father.” Jenna was not claiming to be yet another victim of Clayton Jennings’ seductions but a victim of sexual and spiritual abuse by her own pastor, John Blanchard.
You can read that report here, but the gist of it is that Blanchard committed clergy sexual abuse with her, and after a time, once Sellers realized that what was happening was not ok, she reported him for sexual battery, which is a misdemeanor in Virginia.
Blanchard appeared before a Virginia judge in 2019 to answer to charges that he sexually battered her. Members of Rock Church showed up, in the church bus, to support Blanchard. The charges were dismissed by the judge, as sexual battery is a charge that is difficult to prove, especially where a consensual relationship develops after the incident. Sellers shares:
“He ended up being found not guilty, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It did happen to me. Church leadership knew and decided not to remove him from his position…(Afterwards, members of the church)…were forbidden from speaking with me. I lost an entire support system. Every single one of my friends that I spent the last eight years with… I had to walk away from.”
It is unsurprising that this incident was swept under the rug and had no consequences for Blanchard, as Pentecostal churches, on account of their wayward theology, have developed a “touch not God’s anointed culture” around preachers who are believed to be God’s chosen instruments of prophecy. Blanchard kept his position, and the whole incident was chalked up to a case of some vindictive liar trying to stop the Lord’s work by falsely accusing him of disqualifying sin.
About Author
The wolves are seemingly everywhere these days…
Pretty sad when the Courts seemingly give wolves free reign in the sheep pen. He should have been placed under discipline with the first charge in 2019. Instead the staff member is ostracized and driven from the Church. This man no longer qualifies as an Elder. He certainly is not above reproach.