CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Chesterfield County police said in October 2021, undercover detectives posed as underage people on social media in a prostitution sting.
The detectives said they communicated online with multiple men looking to have sex with someone underage and even arranged to meet them at a location in Chesterfield County.
It resulted in the arrest of 17 men, including Virginia Beach Rock Church Pastor John Blanchard, that night.
Almost a year following the arrest, prosecutors dropped the charges against Blanchard in court Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence in the case.
13News Now asked Chesterfield prosecutors the reason behind the lack of evidence to support the case, but they could not comment further on the investigation.
An official with the Chesterfield County Juvenile Court Clerk's Office said the Commonwealth also dismissed the same charges for another man arrested that night.
However, 15 of the other men police arrested last year didn't have the same outcome for their cases.
According to court documents, a Chesterfield County judge found five men from the Richmond area guilty of solicitation of prostitution with underage people.
Court documents say another five of the men are still waiting on a grand jury to learn if their charges will move forward in the court system. The official with the clerk's office could not find the rest of the men in the court's computer system.
Though a judge dismissed charges for Blanchard and another man in this case, prosecutors can still charge them again in the future with the same charges if they find probable cause.
Rock Church International posted on Facebook hours after the charges were dismissed, saying Blanchard "continually professed his innocence in this case." The post went on to say Blanchard spent the time "fasting and praying" and spending time with his family.
However, court documents show Blanchard traveled frequently to various states across the country for his tech business to sell LED screens to other churches.
In the post, leaders of the church wrote they anticipate Blanchard to return to his senior pastor position in the near future.
13News Now reached out Rock Church in Virginia Beach for more information, but we have not yet heard back.