WINTER PARK, Fla. (CBS12) — Alan Chambers, the former president of an infamous Florida-based anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy organization, was arrested in an undercover child predator sting.
Detectives said 54-year-old Chambers of Winter Park was taken into custody Tuesday following an undercover operation in which he allegedly communicated online with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old boy.
Deputies say Chambers now faces counts of solicitation of a minor, transmission of harmful material to minors, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
In a statement posted Tuesday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said detectives “stopped a predator before he had the chance to harm a child” and are investigating whether there may be additional victims.
See also: WPB charter school teacher accused of molesting student multiple times on campus
Chambers previously served as president of Exodus International, a Florida-based Christian organization that was founded in 1976. The controversial organization promoted so-called “conversion therapy” and claimed people could change their sexual orientation through prayer and counseling, according to CBS News.
The group gained national attention before shutting down in 2013 after Chambers publicly apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for the harm caused by the ministry’s work.
Exodus was heavily featured in ‘Pray Away,’ a 2021 Netflix documentary about survivors of the conversion therapy movement.
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OCSO officials urged parents to monitor their children’s internet and social media activity, calling them “the first line of defense.”
