VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A fresh set of eyes is taking another look at the criminal investigation against Virginia Beach Rock Church Pastor John Blanchard.
A Chesterfield County judge appointed William Blaine Jr. with the Brunswick County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office as the special prosecutor on the case.
The decision comes as Chesterfield County's Commonwealth's Attorney, Stacey Davenport, stepped back from the case in January amid criticism over her choice to set charges aside a year after detectives arrested Blanchard in an undercover prostitution sting.
In her motion for a judge to appoint a special prosecutor, Davenport told the judge she couldn't ethically stay on the Blanchard case, calling the public scrutiny, "one of the best examples of one of the worst menaces to our system of justice."
Attorney and legal analyst, Ed Booth, called the decision to bring in a fresh perspective fairly common.
He explained that because Chesterfield County police received a tip about a video connected to the case last month, the new prosecutor would have to take every detail into consideration and determine if Blanchard should face charges again.
"I think what's likely to happen is that he's going to take a look at all of the evidence, probably interview all of the officers who were involved in the investigation and initial charging in this case and based upon that fresh review, he'll make the decision he needs to make," Booth explained.
Depending on the outcome of the review, Booth said Blaine could determine if Blanchard should face the same or different charges, if any at all.
"The facts and the law and the reasonable likelihood of conviction are generally what drive any prosecutor in terms of their charging decisions," Booth said. "If the facts and circumstances dictate that the charges should be greater than they were before, then they may be greater. If in his estimation, the charges should be lesser, they can be lesser. It'll ultimately be an independent decision."
According to another set of court documents 13News Now obtained, the assistant attorney for the Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney filed a motion for a judge to wait on deciding whether or not to clear, or expunge, Blanchard's criminal records in court.
Originally, Davenport signed the agreement to expunge Blanchard's records in December, before the new evidence came to her office, but the judge never made a decision.
Blanchard's attorney argued against the motion, saying the assistant attorney missed the 21-day period in which they can ask a judge to wait on the decision for expungement.
13News Now reached out to William Blaine Jr.'s office in Brunswick County to learn more about his approach to the case but didn't hear back by the time this article was published.