Sex crime charges were dismissed for Virginia Beach pastor, but not for others arrested in same sting

When Chesterfield County prosecutors last week halted their prosecution of a Virginia Beach megachurch pastor accused of attempting to pay for sex with a teenage girl, there were at least a few people upset by the move.

Among them was Police Chief Jeffrey Katz, who helped his officers conduct the October 2021 “online chatting sting” that resulted in the arrest of Rock Church International Senior Pastor John Blanchard and 16 other men.

Katz, who’s led the department since 2018 and also serves as president of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said in a phone interview this week he was taken aback when he learned prosecutors were abandoning Blanchard’s case. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office asked Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Judge David Rigler to dismiss the pastor’s charges at an Oct. 11 hearing and the judge granted their request.

“I’m aghast at the fact that we didn’t pursue this case to the fullest extent of the law,” Katz said. “It’s an absolutely solid case.”

Two attorneys who represent other men caught up in the sting also were upset. The lawyers said they don’t understand why charges against Blanchard and another defendant were dismissed, while most of the others arrested during the same sting operation — and under similar circumstances — were fully prosecuted.

Of the 17 charged, court records show two of the men pleaded guilty — or no contest — to a felony charge of soliciting prostitution with a minor and will have to register as sex offenders. Eleven men were allowed to enter pleas to a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution, and one man was found incompetent to stand trial.

Blanchard and one other defendant — a 28-year-old man listed in court records as being self-employed and having a 10th-grade education — had their cases dismissed. The Virginian-Pilot was unable to find information for one defendant.

Twelve of the men who were found guilty have been sentenced. Seven received jail terms ranging from one to six months behind bars, and the other five got suspended sentences. Court records indicate the cases were divided among about a half-dozen different prosecutors.

“It’s been wildly inconsistent with how they’re treating these defendants,” said Richmond attorney Julian Viscidi, who represents one of the men charged. “People charged with committing the same crimes should be treated largely the same way.”

Blanchard’s attorney, Noel Brooks of Richmond, didn’t respond to the Pilot’s requests for comment. Rock Church International also didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.

Blanchard stepped away from all ministerial duties at the church days after his arrest, handing oversight of the congregation to his wife, Pastor Robin Blanchard, and Bishop Anne Gimenez.

Moments after the charges were dismissed, the church posted a message on its Facebook page saying Blanchard had been “exonerated” and “cleared of all charges.”

“Pastor Blanchard has continually professed his complete innocence in this case,” the Oct. 11 post said.

“We have always believed in John’s innocence,” Gimenez said in the post. “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.”

A nolle prosequi, or dismissal of charges, however, is not an exoneration. It simply means prosecutors are abandoning their case at that time. Unless the charges were dismissed with prejudice — which didn’t happen in Blanchard’s case — they can be reinstated later. There’s no statute of limitations on prosecuting felony offenses in Virginia.

In a statement to The Pilot, Chesterfield County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stacey Davenport declined to say specifically why charges against Blanchard, 52, were dismissed. She also disputed the police chief’s and lawyers’ claims that the 17 men’s cases were largely the same.

“The interaction between the detective and the defendant in each case was different,” Davenport wrote. “As a result, the evidence available for use in the prosecution of each case was different, and the outcome of each case was different. Some of the cases had sufficient evidence to support felony convictions, and some did not …

“A prosecutor must have evidence that proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to support a conviction in a court of law and ethically cannot proceed with charges in a case where the evidence does not meet that standard.”

The dismissal in Blanchard’s case came nearly a year after he was charged, and after the case had been postponed five times. When it was continued a third time in April, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Alexander Michev told the judge the two sides were working toward a resolution and the next hearing would either be for a preliminary hearing or “some kind of agreement.”

The sting operation in which Blanchard and the others were charged ended Oct. 29, 2021, with each man being arrested at a motel in Chesterfield County. All were charged with soliciting prostitution from a minor, and most were also charged with using a vehicle to promote prostitution. Both crimes are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to police, the men had been chatting online with someone they’d been led to believe was a prostitute — but was actually a police officer. Each had arranged to meet the fictitious person at the motel and then pay her for sex, police said. But when they arrived and knocked on the motel room door, they were instead greeted by a group of police officers.

In Blanchard’s case, Katz said the pastor drove in a rented car to the motel, which is about two hours from his Virginia Beach home.

As the scheduled get-together grew near, the officer posing as a prostitute in Blanchard’s case sent a text to the pastor’s phone asking how old he was, Katz said, and got a response saying he was 40. The officer then texted Blanchard’s phone to say they were 17. Twice during the conversation, messages from Blanchard’s phone asked if the person was affiliated with law enforcement, Katz said.

Richmond attorney Cody Villalon, who represents one of the other defendants, said he believed his client, and some of the others, were unfairly charged with more serious crimes after being told at the last minute the person they’d arranged to meet actually was 17. Soliciting sex with someone under 18 is a felony in Virginia, while soliciting sex with someone 18 or older is a misdemeanor.

Villalon said the men weren’t actively searching for sex with minors. There was no mention of age until they were on their way to the motel, he said, and received texts saying things like, “I’m going to be 18 soon so can you get some beer?” or “I’m 17. Is that a problem?”

While the defense lawyer concedes the men should have abandoned their plans, especially when they learned the person was underage, he also believes the officers’ last-minute actions crossed a line.

“I think they’re trying to make these people look like pedophiles when that wasn’t their original intention,” Villalon said.

Viscidi, the lawyer who represented one of the men who pleaded guilty to a felony charge, agreed.

“They’re trying to get people to commit worse crimes than they’d intended to do,” he said.

Viscidi said his client has no criminal history, was “extremely” cooperative with police, and there’s no evidence he’d sought out a minor. Yet prosecutors refused to allow him to plead to the misdemeanor charge of soliciting sex with an adult, the defense lawyer said.

The man could get up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced next month. He’s a painter with a 9th-grade education and isn’t a U.S. citizen, according to court records. He had to have an interpreter at his hearings and was warned he could be deported.

Katz conceded his officers didn’t provide age information until late in the sting, but defended the strategy. Some of the men the officers had been chatting with abandoned their plans after learning the person was 17, he said.

The October 2021 online chat sting was one of 13 Chesterfield County police have conducted since June 2020, according to a spokeswoman for the department. Nine focused on suspects soliciting sex with juveniles and four on suspects soliciting adult prostitutes. In all, 112 men were arrested.

Katz said his officers will continue conducting similar stings in an effort to protect teenage girls and young women who’ve become victims of sex trafficking.

“We’re here to protect the vulnerable,” he said.

Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com