HIV positive pastor ‘lured 14-year-old to have sex with him’ | World | News
A pastor with HIV allegedly lured a teen into bed with him while withholding the fact that he has the virus. Timothy Chaneyfield, 42, allegedly confessed to grooming and sexually abusing the 14-year-old boy at his home on three different occasions.
Polk County Sheriff condemned the reported vile acts of the so-called minister at a press conference, adding that the alleged abuser will have a “much higher court” to answer to one day. He also warned that there may be other victims who have suffered at the hands of the preacher.
Chaneyfield, who served at the St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church and hospice chaplain, and previously worked at Crystal Lake Middle School, reports New York Post.
It was heard that the paedophile began speaking to the teen on a dating app before moving to Instagram Direct Messaging. He then picked up the boy in his neighbourhood and brought him back to his house in Eagle Creek, where the pair had sex.
The sheriff’s office began looking into Chaneyfield after receiving a tip via Instagram of alleged inappropriate activity with a minor.
Investigators have also spoken to a 26-year-old, who said he has tested positive for HIV after engaging in sexual acts with Chaneyfield.
The teen has received an HIV or Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), which mixes three or more anti-HIV drugs from different classes used to stop the virus from making copies of itself, lower the viral load to undetectable levels, and prevent drug resistance.
“We pray that our work was fast enough, because we got our victim the HIV cocktail that we stopped this child from becoming infected. But we have a 26-year-old that said he engaged Timothy Chaneyfield in sex, and now he is HIV positive,” Judd said.
“Jesus doesn’t like that, and he’ll have to answer to that one day in a court much higher than ours, that he hid behind the cloak, that he abused the power and the persuasion of a well-recognised minister in order to groom children and apparently at least one adult.”
Chaneyfield was arrested in Orlando on July 29 after his flight landed from Baltimore, where he was preaching at a funeral service.
He faces a series of charges, including lewd battery of a minor, interfering with custody of a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, travelling to meet a minor, having sex as an HIV-infected person without informing the partner, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Investigators are urging that anyone who has had sexual contact with Chaneyfield contact them and seek immediate medical care.
