An HIV-positive Florida pastor is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy he met on a dating app, after allegedly going online to target children. The case has left residents shocked and horrified.
Timothy Chaneyfield, 42, the pastor at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven, is facing several charges and was transferred to the Polk County Jail, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference Tuesday. He is being held on a bond of over $350,000.
Chaneyfield faces the following charges: three counts of lewd battery of a minor, three counts of interfering with custody of a minor, one count of 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, one count of possession of cannabis, and five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Judd said investigators spoke with members of the St. James church, who were “shocked” and said, “they had absolutely no idea their pastor was like that.” The investigation revealed that Chaneyfield had gone online searching for children and met the 14-year-old boy through a dating app.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), the investigation began on July 28 after a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip came from Instagram, where Chaneyfield and the victim continued chatting after meeting on the dating app.
“And then Timothy Chaneyfield picked him up in front of his neighborhood on three different occasions,” Judd said. “And on those three different occasions, he wasn’t preaching, but he was messing around.”
Investigators said Chaneyfield picked up the victim on three consecutive days at the entrance to his subdivision, drove him to his house in Winter Haven and sexually abused him.
The pastor allegedly told the victim during a phone call that he wanted to continue having sex with him. He also told the boy he had to travel to Baltimore; investigators later learned he was presiding over a funeral there.
Authorities also learned that Chaneyfield was a chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice of Lakeland. A spokesperson for Amedisys Home Health Care, the hospice’s parent company, told The Christian Post that the company is aware of the allegations and confirmed that Chaneyfield is no longer employed there.
“We will cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities and their investigation,” the Compassionate Care Hospice spokesperson said. “Our priority remains delivering compassionate, high-quality care and support to the patients and families we serve.”
CP attempted to contact St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church for comment, but the phone number was disconnected.
“I hope that all of [the victims] come forward because this is wrong,” Teresa Story, a Winter Haven resident, said in a statement to Nexstar’s WFLA. “The Lord is going to judge him at the end of the day, but the law’s got to judge him too.”
A detective obtained a warrant for Chaneyfield’s arrest, and with help from the Orlando Police Department, authorities took him into custody when he returned to the Orlando airport on July 29.
“But that wasn’t it. That wasn’t all. Timothy is HIV-positive,” Judd said.
Judd said Chaneyfield did not disclose his HIV-positive status to the 14-year-old victim, nor to another man he had sex with who is now HIV positive, according to Judd.
Judd said authorities gave the 14-year-old victim preventive HIV medication and hope it was administered in time to prevent infection.
“[Chaneyfield] groomed a child online, drove to the child’s neighborhood, picked him up, took him to his home, had sex with him, and if that’s not bad enough, never disclosed to the child that he’s HIV-positive,” the sheriff said. “So, ‘I’m going to have unprotected sex with this child and infect him as well.’”
“Jesus don’t like that. And he’ll have to answer for that one day to a court much higher than ours,” he added.
The sheriff is concerned Chaneyfield may have abused other children, noting the pastor had worked with children at Crystal Lake Middle School in Lakeland.
Polk County Public Schools, where Chaneyfield worked from 2012 until 2024, did not immediately respond to CP’s request for comment. This article will be updated if a response is received.
In a statement to WTSP, a spokesperson for Polk County Public Schools said Chaneyfield started as a substitute teacher in 2012, then worked as a paraeducator from 2014 to 2016 and as a network manager from 2016 to 2024, before leaving the district.
“We are thankful that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested this individual to protect the community from any further harm,” the school district said. “As always, we cooperate fully with law enforcement to protect students and staff.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
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