VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A group of about 20 protesters gathered outside of Rock Church in Virginia Beach on Sunday morning, calling for Pastor John Blanchard to resign.
"This guy just has to go," said organizer Sebastian Pignato.
Blanchard was one of 17 people arrested in Chesterfield County as part of a two-day sting operation in October 2021. He was charged with felony solicitation of prostitution with underage people.
Investigators claimed all 17 who were charged had arranged to meet with someone whom they thought was underage and was soliciting sex. Police say they posed as underage people through social media, pretending to be involved in a prostitution ring.
Blanchard was arrested after he allegedly used his personal social media account to meet with who he thought were underage girls and arrived at the location where the undercover detectives were scheduled to meet.
Throughout the last year, Blanchard has maintained he's innocent. He stepped away from the church until the charges were dropped earlier this year.
"Over the past several months I have been the subject of vicious and inhuman accusations. These statements are demonstrably false," he said from the pulpit at Rock Church earlier this month.
In a preliminary hearing in October 2022, prosecutors told the judge the case would be nolle pros, which meant the charges are dropped for now but can be refiled if prosecutors feel they have enough evidence to move forward.
That’s why Pignato organized Sunday morning’s protest.
"He doesn’t need to be a pastor, he doesn’t need to be in charge of other people's lives."
He said they’re looking for justice. They want the charges refiled by prosecutors and have a trial play out.
"When something like this happens, when an injustice happens, I think people say, ‘Well, it’s status quo, there’s nothing we can do.’ I want them to know there’s something we can do," said Pignato.
In a statement, Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney Stacey Davenport stressed that this type of conclusion, as in Blanchard's case, doesn't have the same legal effect as a not-guilty finding.
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 said 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.