Despite a special prosecutor concluding that prostitution-related charges brought against him by local police nearly two years ago were “sound,” a Virginia judge agreed last Wednesday to expunge the case from the record of Rock Church International Senior Pastor John Blanchard, who, while he did not preach on Sunday, was on stage to pray over a baby during a dedication on Sunday.
“It’s kind of like it never happened,” Virginia Beach attorney and legal analyst Ed Booth told 13NewsNow about what the expungement means.
“When that record is run later by an employer, by law enforcement, by whoever, the information is not there. That’s what an expungement means, really,” he added.
Blanchard was among 17 men accused of solicitation of prostitution after an online sting operation by police on Oct. 29, 2021. The married father of two was charged with solicitation of prostitution of a minor and use of a vehicle to promote prostitution, which are felonies. He was arrested at a hotel where he was supposed to meet a detective posing as a 17-year-old girl.
(Full article can be found at https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-john-blanchard-gets-prostitution-charge-expunged.html)