Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 5
Florida Pastor Faces 19 Charges in Minor Sex Case, Including 4 HIV-Concealment Counts
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 5

Florida Pastor Faces 19 Charges in Minor Sex Case, Including 4 HIV-Concealment Counts

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 5

Summary

  • Timothy Chaneyfield, 42, was arrested July 29 at Orlando International Airport after Polk County deputies said he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy and an adult man without disclosing he was HIV-positive.
  • Investigators said Chaneyfield met the boy on a dating app, moved the contact to Instagram and arranged three sexual encounters; tips from Instagram and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children led detectives to him.
  • A 26-year-old man identified by investigators later tested positive for HIV, and authorities said neither he nor the 14-year-old knew Chaneyfield was infected during unprotected sex.
  • The sheriff's office booked Chaneyfield on 19 counts, including three lewd battery charges, three traveling-to-meet-a-minor charges and four counts of sex by an HIV-infected person without informing a partner.
  • Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies suspect additional victims, noting Chaneyfield also served as a hospice chaplain and had worked as a substitute teacher.

Insights

Could stricter social media monitoring and age verification have prevented this trusted preacher from exploiting minors online?
How did a trusted community leader use social media to hide his predatory behavior and evade detection for so long?