POLK COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A 42-year-old man is behind bars after an investigation began following a cyber tip that he was having inappropriate sexual contact with a child.
According to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into Timothy Chaneyfield began on July 28 when they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) regarding an Instagram chat that allegedly occurred between Chaneyfield and the 14-year-old victim. When he was interviewed, the victim alleged that he met Chaneyfield on a dating app and that they then took their conversation to Instagram. He alleged that Chaneyfield picked him up from his home three times and took him to his house, where they had sex.
Investigators learned that Chaneyfield worked as pastor at the St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven, Florida, and that he also served as a hospice chaplain who had been asked to preside over a funeral in Baltimore, Maryland, according to the sheriff’s office. Chaneyfield was apprehended at the Orlando International Airport on July 29 after he returned from the funeral; during his interview he allegedly admitted to having sexual contact with the minor.
WBMA-LD reports that according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, “He groomed a child online, drove to the child’s neighborhood, picked him up, took him to his home, had sex with him,” Judd said. “He’s a dope-smoking pedophile preacher.”
In another investigation, it was learned that Chaneyfield is allegedly HIV-positive and did not disclose his status to the victim or to the adult who reported it to the sheriff’s office. Judd said, “We believe he’s a super-spreader.”
According to WBMA-LD, Chaneyfield worked for the public school system, including at a middle school, from 2012 to 2024.
According to the sheriff’s office, Chaneyfield was charged with three counts lewd battery of a minor, three counts interfering with custody of a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, three counts of travelling to meet a minor, four counts of an HIV-infected person having sex without informing partner, possession of marijuana, and five counts possession of drug paraphernalia. He is behind bars on $350,000 bond.
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