A Winter Haven pastor and former Polk County Public Schools employee has been arrested on charges of sexually battering a 14-year-old boy while being HIV positive.
Timothy Chaneyfield, 42, of Winter Haven faces three felony counts of lewd battery of a minor, three counts interfering with custody of a minor, four counts of an HIV-infected person having sex without informing their partners, and misdemeanor drug charges. The pastor of St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven is being held on more than $350,000 bond.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office opened the case after Instagram provided a cybertip to Auburndale Police Department about an illicit communication between an adult and a minor. The case was found to be located in the unincorporated area of the city.
During a news conference Aug. 4, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Chaneyfield was using online dating apps to contact a 14-year-old boy before moving their conversations to Instagram.
Deputies found evidence Chaneyfield picked up the boy from his neighborhood on three consecutive days and took him back to his Winter Haven home to engage in sex. Chaneyfield then told the teen he was traveling to Baltimore for work, Judd said.
A warrant was obtained for Chaneyfield’s arrest in conjunction with the Orland Police Department, and he was taken into custody upon arriving at an Orlando-area airport on July 29. Chaneyfield was interviewed and confessed to sexual activity with the minor, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Judd said Chaneyfield never disclosed to the teen that he is HIV positive, as required by state law. Chaneyfield claimed to have told him on social media, Judd said, but there’s been no evidence of that.
The Sheriff’s Office worked with the teen to get him a cocktail of drugs to hopefully prevent any HIV infection. Judd said a 26-year-old man has come forward saying he was not as fortunate, testing positive after interactions with Chaneyfield.
The Sheriff’s Office learned Chaneyfield was in Baltimore performing funeral services tied to his work with Compassionate Care Hospice, Judd said, and immediately began searching for him.
“We fear there are other victims out there has he was very aggressive and very adamant about having sex with adults or children,” he said. Chaneyfield previously worked from about 2012 to 2024 for Polk County Public Schools as a paraprofessional and substitute teacher at Crystal Lake Middle School. He also was a pastor at New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Haines City in 2020 and a chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice, Judd said.
Anyone with information regarding Chaneyfield having inappropriate contact with other minors, or other adult victims without disclosing his HIV status, are urged to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven pastor charged with having sex with a minor while HIV+
Reporting by Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
