An Episcopal priest with ties to Asheville has been suspended from his church job in Florida after officials there learned he was arrested this summer on charges of seeking sex at a Waynesville park restroom.
Father Michael Penland, 46, is charged with solicitation for crimes against nature. He is scheduled for a court hearing on Wednesday.
He was arrested in June after police said he offered sex to an undercover police officer. Six other men where charged during the three-month operation.
Officials at St. Gregory’s Church in Boca Raton, where he was director of youth ministry, told parishioners with a note on the church’s Web site that Penland is suspended.