David Hoppenjan, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Pace, Florida was sentenced yesterday to twenty-one months in prison for “traveling to meet a minor for sexual contact.”
The Pensacola News Journal reports:
A Santa Rosa County minister has been sentenced to almost two years in state prison for a child sex offense.
David Donald Hoppenjan, 53, will be designated as a sexual offender following his release from prison. Circuit Judge John Miller imposed the 21-month sentence on Tuesday for one count of traveling to meet a minor for sexual contact.
Hoppenjan was arrested during a sting operation called Operation Undertow, conducted by local and state law enforcement agencies in September.
The operation led to 22 arrests, according to News Journal archives. According to the Pensacola Police Department, undercover agents posed as teenagers on various websites and were contacted by suspects who wanted to meet the minors for sexual acts. The suspects were arrested when they arrived at the meeting location.
Hoppenjan was a pastor at First United Methodist Church of Pace. News Journal archives show Hoppenjan served as executive pastor at Shalimar United Methodist Church prior to his Pace appointment, and served as youth pastor at First United Methodist Church in Wetumpka, Alabama.
