CHESTERFIELD, Va. — John Blanchard, the Senior Pastor of Rock Church, who has lived under a shadow of scrutiny since his arrest on October 29, 2021, will not be charged again with solicitation of prostitution, according to a letter the special prosecutor sent to the Chesterfield Circuit Court judge.
The 53-year-old was arrested for responding to an ad on an online website, presenting a 16-year-old girl looking for sex. Chesterfield County police said the teenage girl was actually an undercover detective as part of a sting operation.
In the messages between Blanchard and the undercover detective, court records reveal Blanchard agreed to meet whom he thought was a teenager at a motel in Chesterfield County. That's where detectives said they arrested Blanchard late at night after he allegedly took a rental car to the motel and showed up with cash in his pocket.
Blanchard was one of 17 men arrested in this operation.
However, in those messages, detectives said Blanchard evaded all questions when the undercover detective asked him if he didn't mind that "she" was underage or when the detective asked Blanchard what he wanted to do when he showed up.
In an interview with detectives that night, Blanchard said he was only going there to meet the 16-year-old girl "just to talk" and not for sex.
The long-time pastor was charged with felony solicitation of prostitution involving underage people and use of a vehicle in the solicitation of prostitution.
After several court hearings for nearly a year, Chesterfield County prosecutors chose to "nolle pros" the charges, meaning the charges would be set aside.
Among the 17 men arrested in this case, most were fully prosecuted, but Blanchard and one other man had their charges set aside.
Since then, a wave of criticism from state leaders, the police department, and community members crashed onto Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney Stacey Davenport.
Amid the scrutiny and new evidence found by Chesterfield County police, Davenport asked a judge to call for a special prosecutor to re-investigate the case. The judge appointed Brunswick County Commonwealth's Attorney, Bill Blaine, to take over as special prosecutor.
In a letter filed Thursday to the judge, Blaine described in detail as to why he felt re-filing charges against the Rock Church pastor would be deemed unnecessary.
Court documents obtained by 13News Now state Blaine called Chesterfield County police's investigation a "sound case," saying the case was handled well by all parties.
Regarding the new evidence discovered by detectives to help re-open the investigation, Blaine wrote, "While there is 'new evidence,' in my respectful opinion, that 'new evidence,' to the extent it is even admissible, does not change the overall, final analysis in this case."
Blaine continued in the letter by saying in the emails regarding plea discussions, the government, "already had a case against Defendant."
He said despite the sound case supported by the police department, the government took the matter under advisement and allowed Blanchard to submit to counseling from more than one counselor while the case was continued in court.
Blaine described how Blanchard's attorney made clear examples to the judge that Blanchard was compliant with all the counseling and displayed general good behavior.
He said as part of an agreement in the wake of the counseling, prosecutors set aside the charges. Blaine mentioned this is not uncommon in criminal cases from where he practices.
"In this case, the Defendant did honor his half of the unwritten plea agreement," Blaine wrote in the letter. "In the vernacular of the people, it is often said that 'the government does not get a do-over [in a criminal prosecution].'"
Blaine finished the letter by saying, "Thus, in conclusion, I will not be reinstating criminal charges against Defendant John Blanchard."
In response to the special prosecutor's letter, the Chesterfield County Police Chief Col. Jeffrey Katz sent a state to 13News Now, saying:
“The Brunswick Commonwealth’s Attorney validated what I’ve publicly said all along — the Chesterfield County Police Department conducted a competent and compelling investigation. This was never about politics — it was about standing up for men and women doing high-quality work on behalf of others.”
You can read the full letter below: