Florida pastor accused of having sex with 14-year-old boy, not revealing HIV diagnosis

A “dope-smoking pedophile preacher” had sex with at least one underage boy and an adult man without telling them he was HIV positive — and Florida officials said Tuesday they fear there might be additional victims.

Timothy Chaneyfield, the 42-year-old pastor at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven, was arrested after getting off a plane at Orlando International Airport on July 29, according to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office statement .

The suspect and young male victim, 14, met on a dating app before Chaneyfield allegedly took their chats to Instagram which led to three meetings for sex, the sheriff’s office said.

Tips from Instagram and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children led detectives to Chaneyfield, Polk County sheriff Grady Judd told reporters on Tuesday.

A 26-year-old man who also had sex with Chaneyfield was located by investigators and tested positive for HIV, Judd said.

“The 26-year-old didn’t know (Chaneyfield was HIV positive) until we brought it to his attention and the 14-year-old had no clue that he was having unprotected sex with an adult that was HIV positive,” Judd said. “This guy’s nasty. He’s a menace to society and he’s proven that.”

Polk County deputies wanted to arrest Chaneyfield last week, but the pastor was in Baltimore, leading a funeral service.

“We actually tried to catch him while he was in Baltimore because we didn’t even want him wandering the streets of Baltimore. What is he up to there?” Judd said.

But the sheriff said his department got “zero assistance” from authorities in Baltimore — an agency, a spokesperson for Judd on Wednesday, identified as the Maryland Department of Transportation Authority police.

A representative for the MDTA police could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Chaneyfield has been booked on suspicion of three counts of lewd battery of a minor, three counts interfering with custody of a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, three counts of traveling to meet a minor, four counts of having sex as an HIV-infected person without informing the partner, possession of marijuana and five counts possession of drug paraphernalia.

“This is a dope-smoking preacher right here in front of you,” Judd said. “He’s a dope-smoking pedophile preacher right before you. And now he’s locked up in the county jail where he should be. He was well respected in the community. People trusted him, they believed in him. And now our plea is: if you’ve engaged this guy in sex, let us tell you (about his HIV status) because he didn’t.”

The suspect also worked as the chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice in Lakeland and had previously been employed by Crystal Lake Middle School as a substitute teacher.

“I would be shocked if there weren’t other children victims out there,” Judd said. “I would be shocked if there weren’t other victims out there. He was very active. He was very engaged.”

Calls to a publicly listed phone number for St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven on Wednesday were met with a message that the line had been disconnected.

Representatives for Compassionate Care Hospice and Broward County Public Schools could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

The United American Freewill Baptist Conference said the St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven “is not affiliated with, governed by, or under the ecclesiastical authority or jurisdiction of the United American Freewill Baptist Conference.”

“Accordingly, we are unable to offer guidance, insight, legal interpretation, or further comment concerning the matter,” the national body said.

It wasn’t clear on Wednesday if Chaneyfield had hired or been assigned a criminal defense to speak on his behalf.