Broken Trust and Broken Laws

Our local paper ran a story about Judge James P. Fisher freeing convicted sex offender Patrick Lundy after his most recent charges. In online comments, many people blamed liberal judges and their agendas. There is only one problem. Judge Fisher is a former Chair of the Fauquier County Republican Committee.

The Background

 Patrick Lundy, 46, was convicted in 2004 on two felony charges stemming from a 2000 offense involving a minor: carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15 years old, and taking indecent liberties with a child by someone in a supervisory relationship. Lundy was between 19 and 20 years old at the time of the two incidents.

He served his sentence and was released. As a convicted sex offender, he was required to remain on the registry and prohibited from entering any school grounds.

Unfortunately, he didn’t do that.

Last summer, a parent saw Lundy at a baseball scrimmage at nearby Fresta Valley Christian School and recognized him from the state sex offender registry.

It turns out Lundy is married to a teacher at the school and has been attending events there for the past ten years. The school administrator, Kevin Worsham, “gave him permission” to attend school events. The school never informed parents they allowed a convicted child sex abuser open access to the school campus.

I should also note: a school administrator does not have the authority to override state law.

The Law and the Arrest

Under Virginia Code § 18.2-370.5, convicted sex offenders whose crimes required registration are prohibited from entering or being present on any public or private elementary or secondary school property, child day centers, or school buses without explicit court approval. This applies during school hours, as well as during school-related or sponsored activities (e.g., sports games, graduations, or concerts).

Lundy was arrested on July 1, 2025, and charged with a Class 6 felony under § 18.2-370.5. A grand jury indicted him in September of 2025. He eventually entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and pled guilty on March 26 of this year.

The Ruling

Sentencing took place on July 20, when Judge Fisher entered the picture. Fisher said:

“What we’ve got is a highly technical violation of the law by someone who didn’t mean to do it … I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to rehabilitate you, because you’re already there.”

He then sentenced Lundy to 12 months in jail, all suspended, and a year on probation.

Think about it:

– A child sex offender violated the law for ten years and walked away free.

– Fresta Valley Christian School, which had done nothing legally wrong, and was never charged with anything, walked away free as well.

The Aftermath

Commentary on the article was predictably divided. Friends of Lundy supported him, claiming he didn’t know what he did was wrong. Others bashed the system and the judge, blaming “liberal judges” and warning that we were soon “going to be just like Fairfax, VA.”

Except this judge isn’t a liberal. He is a Republican. A longstanding Republican.

• He was the Former Chair of the Fauquier County Republican Committee.
• He was elected Commonwealth Attorney for Fauquier County twice as a Republican.
• When he was selected in 2019 for the Circuit Court, not a single Democratic Senator voted for him due to questions about the selection process (Republicans controlled the Virginia Senate at the time).

The Bottom Line

Is Mr. Lundy truly rehabilitated after committing his various crimes? I don’t know.

I do know three things:

A private Christian school allowed a convicted child sex offender to attend events for almost ten years, and never informed parents.

Mr Lundy, the convicted sex offender who was on the registry, pled guilty to the new charges against him.

A Republican judge suspended his sentence and set him free. Not a liberal judge. A Republican judge.

It may not be the Epstein Files, but it still stinks to high heaven.

Addendum:

• Note: Post publishing this blog, a reader reminded me that this is the same judge who, during covid, forced our local hospital to give a covid patient Ivermectin, or face a $10,000/day fine.
• This is about as local as it gets. Fresta Valley Christian School is a private, non-denominational Christian school located about a mile from our home. It has students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. 
• Information in the blog about the case itself is largely extracted from articles in our two local papers: The Fauquier Times and Fauquier Now.
• Thanks to my friend Irv Woods for some suggestions with regard to this blog.