CHESTERFIELD, Va. — It's the latest judgment in a series of criticism over the criminal case against Virginia Beach Rock Church Pastor John Blanchard.
Chesterfield County Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge David Johnson wrote several statements in his reasoning behind appointing a special prosecutor to the criminal case.
Let's take a look back at what led up to these statements.
Chesterfield police arrested Blanchard in October 2021 after he answered an online ad and communicated with an undercover detective posing as a 17-year-old girl for sex. Messages from Blanchard that night show him asking the person if they are "affiliated with law enforcement in any way" and showed up to the meet-up location at a hotel with cash in his pocket.
A year later, prosecutors handling the case chose to nolle prosse the prostitution charges, which essentially means the charges have been set aside.
Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney Stacey Davenport's office received backlash for this decision.
Chesterfield Police Chief Col. Jeffrey Katz called for transparency from Davenport, saying, "I believe a jury of Chesterfield County residents deserves to weigh in on the matter of criminal culpability. The decision to nolle prosse this case has made such a deliberation impossible...but I want to be clear, this is NOT due to a lack of evidence or a substandard investigation."
Davenport eventually responded, saying, "Moral outrage is no substitute for evidence, and this office stands by that decision."
Davenport decided to step back from the investigation in light of new evidence, calling the criticism against her office "unfounded political attacks."
More statements were made in the months following the decision to set aside the charges in November 2022.
Judge Johnson wrote in the court documents that these public arguments between Davenport, Katz, and even some comments from State Del. Tim Anderson, is "the last thing that is needed in an already difficult decision-making process," calling the arguments, "injection of gratuitous insults, self-righteous posturing, and finger-pointing."
Paragraphs later, Johnson referred to Katz's specific statement, saying, "This inappropriate -- some might say reckless -- language is subject to potentially dangerous interpretation. Certainly, the Commonwealth's Attorney's public comment sparked the Chief's response. But words have meaning. And those entrusted with public office should carefully and prudently select their words."
Johnson argued the comments made by county and state leaders in the media and on social media could sway the public's opinion on the case and disrupt a defendant's right to an unbiased jury.
Chief Col. Katz responded to the latest statement by Judge Johnson in this statement to 13News Now:
"I’m grateful to hear Judge Johnson ruled in a way that will allow this case to see the inside of a courtroom. Through this order, he and he alone has re-activated the wheels of justice that had been frozen by the CA’s decision to set these charges aside.
The sad irony is not lost on me that the public nature of this debate - while unfortunate - is the very thing that ultimately put this matter before Judge Johnson to remedy. He did the right thing, the just thing, and I’m thankful."
This isn't the first time Davenport, Katz, and Johnson had a public form of criticism over a case.
According to WWBT NBC12 in Richmond, in July 2021, Katz and Davenport spoke out against Judge Johnson's decision to overturn a murder conviction in the death of a Chesterfield teen.
Judge Johnson named William Blaine Jr. with the Brunswick County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office the special prosecutor in the case. He is set to review all evidence and determine if Blanchard should face charges again.
13News Now reached out to Stacey Davenport's Office Thursday regarding these statements, but we have not received a response.