rock church – Protestia

Megachurch Pervert-Pastor John Blanchard Gets Prostitution Charges Expunged

Rock Church’s thoroughly disgraced and disqualified ‘pastor’ John Blanchard appeared upbeat this past Sunday, appearing on stage and praying over a baby during a dedication service just days after learning that the prostitution charge he acquired for soliciting a minor is getting expunged. According to America Press:

“An expungement removes arrests and/or convictions from a person’s criminal record entirely as if they never happened. Even a court or prosecutor cannot view a person’s expunged record.

Two years ago, the embattled 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. When questioned by police, Blanchard claimed he had no idea how he came upon a well-known prostitution website in the first place and no idea how he came to start texting the number, blaming his lack of memory of the whole situation on “brain problems.”

He also strenuously defended his innocence, telling detectives, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just going to talk.”

His insistence that “he only wanted to talk” doesn’t explain why he drove two and a half hours to see a 17-year-old girl, why he only wanted to ‘talk’ for an hour, requested a QV, ( sex worker lingo for a quick visit) asked her how much money he should bring, and was concerned about whether or not she was law enforcement.

Despite being caught dead to rights, Blanchard would eventually receive a sweetheart deal and agree to receive the equivalent of sex-offender-related counseling, particularly “psychosexual evaluations,” in exchange for seeing the charges dropped. However, this deal wasn’t offered to any other of the 16 men who were arrested and charged, prompting lawyers to express their confusion over the special treatment- as sex-offender counseling is something they’d have to do anyway.

The decision to drop charges against him rankled Chesterfield police chief Jeffrey S. Katz, who came 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 was so much evidence.

Throughout the whole affair, Rock Church has stood by Blanchard, who insists it was all innocent and above board and is still listed as the senior pastor on the Church website.

While the church has claimed that he has “voluntarily stepped back as lead pastor and from all his ministerial duties until this present situation is totally resolved, that is simply not true, with CP reporting that he was found preaching up a storm at the Power and Authority Conference hosted by Global Fellowship Church, where he was lauded as a “man of God” that possesses a “prophetic voice to the body of Christ.”

Megachurch Faces Civil Lawsuit After Church Elder Starves and Tortures Daughter to Death

Last year, an elder from Miles McPherson’s 19,000-member Rock Church in San Diego, California, was taken into custody and charged with the gruesome murder of her 11-year-old adopted daughter, Arabella, by way of torture and starvation. Now, a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Arabella’s two remaining biological sisters, taking legal action against the church and accusing it of ignoring the signs of abuse and failing to report it.

The tragic chain of events unraveled in late 2022, when a distress call about a child led police to the home around 2 am. Emergency crews discovered the young girl in dire straits and rushed her to the hospital, where she later died.

Detectives observed signs of abuse and malnutrition, leading them to arrest Leticia McCormack, the adoptive mother, along with Arabella’s adoptive grandparents on multiple charges, including murder, torture, and deliberate cruelty to a child. Arabella weighed just 48 lbs when found, was covered in bruises, and was later discovered to have 13 still-healing bone fractures. Her adoptive father, Brian McCormack, chose to end his life rather than face arrest, shooting himself in his truck on the day Arabella died.

In the aftermath of this tragic incident, a civil lawsuit has been initiated. This legal action accuses the San Diego megachurch and one of its employees, along with several employees of the county Child Welfare Services, San Diego police and fire departments, and Arabella’s preschool of negligence for not reporting the clear and obvious neglect and abuse, with particular ire directed toward Rock Church, writing:

At some point, the Rock Church Child Abuse Investigator and Safety Operations Manager Kevin Johnstone became involved and visited the McCormacks’ home and the girls on multiple occasions.
In fact, Mr. Johnstone visited all three children just the week prior to Arabella’s death…(and) their neglect and abuse was apparent to him. All three girls were severely emaciated, underdeveloped, and the victims of prolonged starvation, isolation, lack of medical care, torture, and abuse.”

At the time of the death, Rock Church issued this statement, but has not commented since:

The Rock no longer has any official relationship with Leticia. Her ordination at Rock Church was previously suspended and is in the process of being revoked.
We continue to grieve for Arabella and her sisters. We are so sorry that their family and friends are experiencing this unimaginable loss and pain. We send our deepest condolences to all that are grieving at this time. Our hearts go out to each of them.

h/t Church Leaders