An Oklahoma pastor has been charged with soliciting prostitution after being caught in a sting operation. Jeremy Fair has been placed on indefinite leave from his position as senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Tulsa.
The congregation is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
According to KJRH, the sting operation was conducted by the Glenpool Police Department in coordination with other agencies as part of a training exercise in conducting such operations.
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The sting resulted in five arrests. The others arrested were Rohan BhoJwanti, Mathew Eddy, David Raridon, and Christopher LeBleu.
All of the suspects were charged with solicitation, except for Raidon, who was arrested on a complaint of solicitation of a minor.
“[The sting operation] wasn’t preplanned in the sense that we knew of anything going on,” said Police Chief Jeremy Plane. “It just was part of the training and through the training efforts of learning how to do this, they were able to identify some actual targets and follow through with it.”
Plane said that none of the suspects worked together but had begun individually communicating with undercover officers online before arranging to meet the officers, whom the suspects believed to be sex workers, at a local hotel.
None of the suspects were residents of Glenpool but instead traveled from other cities.
In a statement sent to church members, Christ Presbyterian Church said, “It is with a heavy heart we communicate information concerning Senior Pastor Jeremy Fair. Yesterday, Jeremy was arrested and charged with engaging in prostitution.”
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“This is an ongoing investigation, and we do not have all the details. We will communicate as we know more. The Session has decided to place Jeremy on indefinite leave,” the statement continued.
