A former pastor known for leading a gay conversion therapy ministry was caught trying to meet what he thought was an underage boy for sex, according to Florida police.
Alan Chambers, 54, allegedly sent lewd messages including sexual photographs to an undercover police officer he believed to be a 14-year-old child.
He apologized to the gay community for ‘years of undue suffering and judgment at the hands of the organization and the church as a whole.’
Prosecutors say Chambers sent the sexually explicit messages via Telegram and Snapchat between February and May while trying to arrange a meetup with the fake underage child.
Chambers allegedly talked about “forbidden love” and sent a photograph that showed a “white [male’s] torso laying in bed where the end of their penis was visible.”
The detective pretending to be a boy said that on April 10, Chambers asked him to take an Uber and meet with him. He also allegedly deleted many of the messages out of fear of getting in trouble.
Chambers made headlines in 2013 when he turned against conversion therapy after admitting that he was attracted to men despite being married to a woman. He also shut down the conversion ministry and said he was going to work to build bridges between Christians and gay people.
He apologized to the gay community for “years of undue suffering and judgment at the hands of the organization and the church as a whole” and said his new ministry would have “peace to be at the forefront of anything we do in the future.”
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Chambers was arrested on Tuesday during a traffic stop at Aloma Avenue and Strathy Lane.
The man was booked on charges of solicitation of a minor, transmission of harmful material to a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
His bond was set at $15,000, and he was ordered to not have any communication with anyone under the age of 18 years old.
“Today our detectives stopped a predator before he had the chance to harm a child. … Parents, please monitor your children’s internet and social media activity — you are the first line of defense,” reads a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s office.
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