Megachurch pastor caught on CCTV breaking into female parishioners home, wandering through teens bedrooms
A megachurch pastor faces jail for stalking a female congregation member after being caught twice breaking into her home on CCTV.Marie Columna, 43, said she’s “still afraid” of Sergio Guardia, 49, a minister at the renowned Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.Guardia was convicted by a jury last week on two counts of burglary and one count of stalking, according to Lynchburg Circuit Court and faces up to ten years in jail.The megachurch in Lynchburg — founded by Jerry Falwell Sr.and affiliated with Liberty University — is one of the most celebrated Baptist churches in the country and is affiliated with the scandal-hit Southern Baptist Convention.Marie, 43, a service coordinator for early intervention said she reported Guardia’s increasingly bizarre behavior before leaving the church in 2016 — but “nothing was ever done about it”.The Lynchburg woman is speaking out about the 2023 break-ins, caught on security camera footage.“I was out of state with my children visiting a friend, and I got a notification on my phone that a person was in my house,” Marie recalled.The footage, captured at 11:30 p.m.
on November 10, revealed Guardia walking through the door and creeping around the kitchen.“Every light was off, and he was using the flashlight on his phone.It was very clear that he knew exactly where he was – that he had been in my house before.”Guardia, wearing sweatshirt and jeans, appeared to notice the camera and ran away.Marie, who had installed security cameras about a month before, due to a series of neighborhood break-ins, said she called police the next morning.“I was coming back Sunday, so we agreed I’d call the officer when I returned home, and we’d do the report,” she recalled.
“I wanted to press charges.”The next night, while still out of town, Marie received another alert — this time showing Guardia entering her backyard.The camera feed revealed Guardia entering through the basement — into her daught...