LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — On Wednesday, a judge certified all the charges against Sergio Guardia, a pastor accused of breaking into a Lynchburg woman's home.
Guardia now faces charges including two counts of felony breaking and entering, and one misdemeanor count of stalking. The judge in the case also issued a protective order for the alleged victim and her kids.
In Wednesday's hearing, Marie Columna testified that Guardia was her former pastor from years before.
On November 10-11, 2023, Columna says she witnessed a motion camera Guardia entering her home while she was out of town.
RELATED: VIDEO: Lynchburg woman accuses former pastor of breaking into her home, stalking
Columna said she had cut ties with him and he didn't have permission to be there. We spoke with a friend who came to support her, Ashley Easter, who is also the founder of Courage 365.
“She should have a protective order because who knows why he was going into her house, who knows why he was going into her daughter's bedroom. I think she definitely needs to have a protective order for that," Easter said.
Easter said she is happy with Wednesday's ruling.
“He was her pastor, so there’s this level of what I would call spiritual abuse, where he’s in a position of power and trust over her, which makes a person more vulnerable, which, as we heard in court today. This is a one-off thing," Easter said.
We asked Guardia, his family, and his attorney if they'd like to interview today, but they declined to comment. However, his attorney said they plan on appealing the protective order.
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