ALABAMA
AL.com
By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com
Twenty-two men – including 4 from Alabama and a former youth pastor at a Wetumpka church – were arrested in an internet sting that targeted adults who traveled to Pensacola to have sex with children.
Dubbed “Operation Undertow,” the Pensacola police said the sting took place Sept. 7-11. Warrants were issued for all of the suspects after they contacted undercover agents via the computer in an attempt to arrange sexual encounters with teenage males and female.
The suspects were arrested when they arrived at the designated location where they thought they would be meeting the teens. They were instead met by Pensacola police.
“This effort of arresting and prosecuting these individuals helps to stop future abuse,” said Pensacola Police Chief David Alexander III. “This was five days of hard work for our officers, dispatchers, support personnel, and personnel from other agencies in addition to the planning of this operation.”
Among those arrested was David Hoppenjan, 52, of Pace, Florida, senior pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Pace. Prior to coming to Pace last year, Hoppenjan was executive pastor at Shalimar United Methodist Church in Florida for nine years and before that, he was youth pastor at Wetumpka First United Methodist Church in Alabama.
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