VENTURA, Calif. -- The pastor of the Oxnard Baptist Temple Tuesday pleaded no contest to a charge of soliciting a prostitute and was fined $150 and placed on two years probation.
The Rev. Dale Rothenberger had pleaded innocent to the misdemeanor charge, but his lawyer said he changed it to no contest to avoid the publicity of a trial.
Rothenberger did not appear in court to hear Municipal Court Judge Lee Cooper issue the sentence.
Rothenberger, 40, was one of 45 people arrested May 15 during a crackdown on prostitution in an Oxnard shopping center. The reverend was accused of soliciting an undercover policewoman.
After the arrest was made public, Rothenberger tearfully told his congregation he had talked to the woman but had no intention of soliciting her.
Rothenberger's attorney, Richard Regnier, said it was possible his client may no longer be able tl continue as pastor. Rothenberger, who is married and the father of three, has been pastor of the congregation for 14 years.
