Former Unitarian Universalist Minister Arrested in Alleged Child Solicitation Case

Three weeks after the arrest of a former Falmouth minister for allegedly soliciting sex with a minor, the local spiritual community continues to agonize over the deeper implications of broken trust.

David G. Kohlmeier—who served as the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth from 2017 to 2021—was among five men arrested last month in Pennsylvania accused of trying to arrange, via the internet, to have sex with a 14-year-old child. He has since been released on bail and is awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 26 in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Mr. Kohlmeier had been serving as a minister for the UU church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the time of his September 15 arrest by undercover agents representing several law enforcement agencies. On the night of his arrest, Mr. Kohlmeier told police officers in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, that he believed he had been communicating with a 14-year-old male and that he had arranged to meet the child to engage in a sexual act, according to a criminal complaint form submitted to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office by the police department.

Mr. Kohlmeier and the other four men arrested during the sting operation had been allegedly speaking with undercover agents posing as children. While the details of the case are important, to members of the Falmouth clergy who had welcomed Mr. Kohlmeier into the fold and into their hearts, they were less meaningful than the broken trust they and their congregants are feeling.

“I am confused, angry, and deeply sad,” said the Reverend Deborah M. Warner, a rector, now retired, from the Church of the Messiah in Woods Hole. “This is a tragic severing of trust between a member of the clergy and a congregation, and the (Falmouth) community. The effect of this will go on for years.”

Although Mr. Kohlmeier has not yet entered a plea, and has not yet been convicted, Ms. Warner said the implications of the arrest are deeply troubling for her. “For those who have experienced this kind of abuse, [news of the arrest] is an instant trigger, and they will need to attend to that part of themselves with tenderness and the support of family, friends and others in the community,” she said. “Having survived sexual abuse as a child myself, a part of me gets triggered.”

The Reverend Nell Fields, pastor of Waquoit Congregational Church, said she, too, felt the sting of a broken bond. “When I first read the news about David, I was shocked and disappointed,” Ms. Fields said. “It’s painful when there is a betrayal by a trusted colleague—especially a clergy person.” “I am concerned for the congregations in Harrisburg and here in Falmouth,” Ms. Fields added.

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