Report: Man arrested in child sex sting was Harrisburg area minister

A man arrested in a child sex sting in the Philadelphia suburbs was a minister at a Harrisburg area church, according to information from the Montgomery County District Attorney and reporting by ABC27.

David Kohlmeier, 46, was arrested Sept. 16 on charges stemming from an operation in which detectives posed as a 14-year-old online in order to catch suspected child predators, according to the Montgomery County DA.

Kohlmeier was a minister at the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, according to ABC27, which cited a statement the news station received from the church confirming Kohlmeier had served there for the past year but was subsequently relieved of his position.

Montgomery County detectives conducted the operation along with local police and the state’s internet crimes task force, according to a release from the office of Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele. The operation resulted in five arrests, including Kohlmeier’s.

Each of the five men “engaged in sexually explicit electronic communications with a person they believed was a minor child,” Steele alleged, and subsequently “appeared at an agreed-upon meeting location in Conshohocken with the intent of having sexual relations with the minor child.”

Court dockets in the case list Kohlmeier’s address as Devon, in Chester County.

In the statement cited by ABC27, the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg stated that Kohlmeier’s “alleged actions are antithetical to our beliefs and do not represent this church or its congregation,” and that “we sincerely hope for a just and equitable resolution to this situation, and that all affected are able to find peace and healing.”

Kohlmeier is facing eight charges related to the sting, according to court records, including several felony counts. He was released on $99,000 bond ahead of a preliminary hearing on Sept. 28.