A pastor in Florida has been accused of s£xually abusing a 14-year-old boy and exposing him to HIV.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested and charged 42-year-old Timothy Chaneyfield, pastor at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church.
According to Sheriff Grady Judd, investigators received a cyber tip from Instagram about inappropriate activity between an adult and a child.
During an interview, the 14-year-old victim disclosed that he and Chaneyfield met on a dating app, then continued to chat via Instagram.
Investigators said Chaneyfield allegedly picked up the boy from his neighborhood three times, took him to his home and s£xually abused him.
During a phone call with the victim, Chaneyfield allegedly told the child that he wanted to continue having s£x with him. The 42-year-old also told the victim that he was flying to Baltimore for work.
Detectives also learned that Chaneyfield is a chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice and was going to preside over a funeral.
Detectives obtained a warrant for Chaneyfield’s arrest. Working with the Orlando Police Department, he was taken into custody upon his return to the Orlando airport on July 29, 2026.
Authorities said he admitted to s£xual activity with the minor during the interview.
During a separate investigation, a man reported to authorities that he had s£x with Chaneyfield and learned after the fact that Chaneyfield was HIV positive.
Detectives confirmed that Chaneyfield is HIV positive and is taking medication, and that he did not inform the man or the child about his HIV status.
After learning of this, the sheriff said the child immediately underwent medical treatment to prevent infection.
“This is a dope-smoking preacher right here in front of you,” Judd said. “He’s a dope-smoking pedophile preacher right before you.”
He has been appropriately charged for those crimes as well.
So far, Chaneyfield has been charged with three counts of lewd battery of a minor, three counts of 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 an HIV-infected person having sex without informing a partner, possession of marijuana, and five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is being held on more than $350,000 bond.