The sting took place Thursday evening and resulted in the arrests of Rohan BhoJwanti, 30, of Tulsa; Matthew Eddy, 28, of Tulsa; David Raridon, 60, of Missouri; Christopher LeBleu, 54, of Louisiana; and Jeremy Fair, 49, of Tulsa. All but Raridon were arrested for soliciting prostitution. Raridon was arrested on a complaint of solicitation of a minor. All five were booked into the Tulsa County Jail.
Police say contact with the men began online and transitioned to text messaging before they each arrived at the Comfort Inn.
Fair is a pastor, most recently at Christ Presbyterian Church in Tulsa. He has since been removed from the church’s website. A statement from the church read he was placed on indefinite leave.
The occupations of the other men reportedly range from firefighter to business owner to school district finance manager.
“As law enforcement, I don’t think we often get surprised by the people we encounter and what their history is,” said Glenpool Police Chief Jeremy Plane. “I think the general public at times is surprised that community leaders would be involved in anything nefarious; unfortunately, 23 years has shown me that you just never know.”
Plane held a press conference on Friday about the operation. You can watch it below.