Sergio Guardia, a 49-year-old pastor at the esteemed Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is facing a potential ten-year prison sentence. Guardia was convicted last week on two counts of burglary and one count of stalking, according to Lynchburg Circuit Court. The charges stem from incidents involving a female member of his congregation, Marie Columna, 43, who reported that Guardia had broken into her home twice, as captured by her home security cameras.
The Thomas Road Baptist Church, founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. and affiliated with Liberty University, is one of the most prominent Baptist churches in the country. It is also associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which has recently been embroiled in scandal. Columna, a service coordinator for early intervention, reported Guardia’s increasingly strange behavior before leaving the church in 2016, but claims no action was taken.
Columna is now speaking out about the 2023 break-ins, which were caught on her home security cameras. She was out of state with her children when she received a notification on her phone that someone was in her house. The footage showed Guardia entering her home and moving around her kitchen using the flashlight on his phone. Columna, who had installed security cameras due to a series of neighborhood break-ins, contacted the police the following morning.
While still out of town, Columna received another alert showing Guardia entering her backyard and then her basement, which serves as her daughter’s bedroom. Police later confirmed there was no sign of forced entry, leading Columna to suspect that Guardia had a key. After another call to the police, officers arrived and searched the property, but Guardia was not found. However, when shown a photo of Guardia, Columna immediately identified him as the intruder.
Columna first met Guardia in 2007 when she attended his Spanish-language church service at Thomas Road Baptist Church. After separating from her husband in 2011, Guardia and his wife encouraged her to return to the church. However, Columna claims Guardia’s behavior became increasingly unusual, including showing up at her house uninvited and expressing romantic feelings for her.
Despite moving multiple times to escape Guardia, Columna says he always managed to find her. She also noticed suspicious activity on her online accounts, with IP addresses linked to Liberty University logging into her email. Columna believes Guardia was able to access her information through a Liberty email address listed as a recovery option on her account.
Despite a protective order against Guardia and a pre-sentencing hearing scheduled for August 20, Columna remains fearful. She claims that Guardia is being supported by top administration at the church, with Executive Pastor Matt Wilmington testifying as a character witness for Guardia at his bond hearing.