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

U.S. newsFlorida pastor accused of having sex with 14-year-old boy, not revealing HIV diagnosis The suspect, 42-year-old Timothy Chaneyfield of St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven, was arrested and is facing multiple charges.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00St James Freewill United American Baptist Church in Winter Haven, Fla.Google MapsShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 5, 2026, 2:44 PM EDTBy David K. LiA “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.They wanted to arrest Chaneyfield last week, but the pastor was in Baltimore, leading a funeral service.“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.” Judd said they hope they found the 14-year-old soon enough and that an “HIV cocktail” of medication will prevent him from becoming ill.Chaneyfield has been booked on suspicion of three counts of lewd battery of a minor, three c...