Sergio Guardia, a 49-year-old pastor at the renowned Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is facing a potential decade-long incarceration. Guardia was found guilty last week on two counts of burglary and one count of stalking, as per the Lynchburg Circuit Court. The charges are linked to incidents involving a female parishioner, Marie Columna, 43, who alleged that Guardia had unlawfully entered her home on two occasions, as recorded by her home security system.
The Thomas Road Baptist Church, established by Jerry Falwell Sr. and affiliated with Liberty University, is one of the most distinguished Baptist churches in the nation. It is also linked with the Southern Baptist Convention, which has recently been involved in controversy. Columna, an early intervention service coordinator, reported Guardia’s increasingly peculiar behavior before she left the church in 2016, but alleges that no action was taken.
Columna is now publicly discussing the 2023 break-ins, which were recorded by her home security cameras. She was out of state with her children when she received an alert on her phone that someone was in her residence. The video showed Guardia entering her home and moving around her kitchen using his phone’s flashlight. Columna, who had installed security cameras due to a series of neighborhood break-ins, contacted the police the next morning.
While still away, Columna received another alert showing Guardia entering her backyard and then her basement, which is her daughter’s bedroom. Police later confirmed there was no evidence 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 encountered 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 alleges Guardia’s behavior became increasingly unusual, including showing up at her house uninvited and expressing romantic feelings for her.
Despite relocating several times to evade Guardia, Columna says he always managed to locate her. She also noticed suspicious activity on her online accounts, with IP addresses linked to Liberty University accessing 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 apprehensive. She alleges 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.