Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent Ruckersville, Greene County, Virginia, USA · 2026

United States: Virginia pastor sentenced for sexually abusing a minor and embezzling church funds

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

pastor of Victory Church, Ruckersville, Virginia

Organization

Victory Church, Ruckersville, Virginia

Spiritual nexus

A pastor's control over both a minor congregant and the church's finances within a single small congregation, exercised until the church itself collapsed on his arrest.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-01-05 · guilty plea and sentence

    Greene County Circuit Court, Virginia. Rodney Locklear, 49, pastor of Victory Church, pleaded guilty in September 2025 to 12 charges including child endangerment, sexual abuse of a minor, and eight counts of embezzlement from the church. Judge David Barredo sentenced him to 10 years in prison on 5 Jan 2026. The church closed following his February 2025 arrest.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • pastoral authority over a minor within his own congregation, combined with financial control over church funds

Primary record

Sources

press press report WVIR/29News, Jan 2026.

Sentence, charges, plea date.

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