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Former 'pray-away-the-gay' activist charged in child sex sting, Orange deputies say [View all]
Former ‘pray-away-the-gay’ activist charged in child sex sting, Orange deputies sayThe Virginian-Pilot (newspaper)
The former president of a widely-known anti-LGBTQ organization has been arrested for seeking sex from an undercover deputy posing as a 14-year-old boy, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Alan Chambers, 54, of Winter Park was booked in the Orange County Jail Tuesday on charges of soliciting a minor, transmitting material harmful to minors and unlawfully using a two-way communications device. An affidavit obtained from the Sheriff’s Office describes lewd text messages exchanged with the undercover deputy through the social media app Snapchat and later through text-messaging service Telegram.
Chambers led a “pray-away-the-gay” ministry, Exodus International, from 2001 until 2013 when he shut it down and apologized to those he said had been hurt by the organization.
Before his arrest, Chambers was listed as president of the Park Avenue District, the nonprofit organization representing businesses in the downtown Winter Park corridor. He also worked as vice president of operations at John Craig Clothier, a luxury menswear store on Park Avenue. In 2023, Chambers was named “best-dressed booster” by Winter Park Magazine.
According to a sheriff’s office affidavit, from Feb. 10 through May 4, Chambers is accused of repeatedly seeking to meet with a teenager for sex. On Tuesday morning, detectives said they interviewed Chambers during a traffic stop on Aloma Avenue and Strathy Lane, where he confirmed the accounts he was messaging from were his but stopped the interview when he was asked about the conversations.
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Alan Chambers, 54, of Winter Park was booked in the Orange County Jail Tuesday on charges of soliciting a minor, transmitting material harmful to minors and unlawfully using a two-way communications device. An affidavit obtained from the Sheriff’s Office describes lewd text messages exchanged with the undercover deputy through the social media app Snapchat and later through text-messaging service Telegram.
Chambers led a “pray-away-the-gay” ministry, Exodus International, from 2001 until 2013 when he shut it down and apologized to those he said had been hurt by the organization.
Before his arrest, Chambers was listed as president of the Park Avenue District, the nonprofit organization representing businesses in the downtown Winter Park corridor. He also worked as vice president of operations at John Craig Clothier, a luxury menswear store on Park Avenue. In 2023, Chambers was named “best-dressed booster” by Winter Park Magazine.
According to a sheriff’s office affidavit, from Feb. 10 through May 4, Chambers is accused of repeatedly seeking to meet with a teenager for sex. On Tuesday morning, detectives said they interviewed Chambers during a traffic stop on Aloma Avenue and Strathy Lane, where he confirmed the accounts he was messaging from were his but stopped the interview when he was asked about the conversations.
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