A 42-year-old Florida pastor who allegedly confessed to sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy on multiple occasions now faces charges for failing to disclose his HIV-positive status during unprotected contact with the child.

Timothy Chaneyfield, a pastor at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in New Haven, Florida, was arrested in Orlando after the Polk County Sheriff's Office received a tip through Instagram flagging potentially inappropriate activity between Chaneyfield and a minor. Sheriff Grady Judd announced the charges in a press conference, describing how Chaneyfield allegedly groomed the boy online before picking him up on at least three separate occasions and bringing the child to his home in Eagle Lake.

Chaneyfield faces three counts of lewd battery against a child, failure to disclose his HIV status, traveling to meet a minor, computer-related charges, and marijuana possession. He was booked into Orange County Jail after his arrest in Orlando, then transferred to Polk County custody.

Chaneyfield allegedly confessed after his arrest in Orlando

Sheriff Judd told reporters that Chaneyfield admitted to the abuse once in custody. Judd said during the press conference:

"He confessed. He confessed that he picked up this 14-year-old child on at least three different occasions, took him to Timothy's home in Eagle Lake, where he engaged this child in sex."

But the alleged abuse was not the full extent of the danger Chaneyfield posed to the boy. Judd said Chaneyfield is HIV positive and never told the child before having unprotected sexual contact.

"Timothy is HIV positive. He failed to tell this 14-year-old child that 'I'm HIV positive,' and he had unprotected sex."

The 14-year-old has since received medical care, including what Judd described as an "HIV cocktail", a regimen of antiviral medications given after potential exposure. The boy's current HIV status has not been publicly disclosed.

Chaneyfield reportedly told police he was taking medication for HIV and claimed he had disclosed his status to the child through social media. Judd dismissed that claim outright.

"Well, we see zero evidence of that."

A second person is now HIV positive after contact with Chaneyfield

Investigators also discovered a 26-year-old individual who had engaged in sexual contact with Chaneyfield and has since tested positive for HIV. Judd accused Chaneyfield of being a "super spreader" who has "more than likely infected more people than they currently know of." That characterization came from Judd, not from a public health agency, and it remains unverified by any epidemiological finding.

Judd issued a public appeal for anyone who has had sexual contact with Chaneyfield to go to a hospital for testing and treatment. The case is not just about one child, similar cases involving clergy hiding dangerous health conditions from abuse victims raise the same question about how many people were put at risk before authorities intervened.

"Call us, we'll meet you there. We will get you the care that you need."

Chaneyfield groomed the boy through a dating app and Instagram

The New York Post reported that Chaneyfield groomed the victim through a dating app before moving to direct messaging on Instagram. Judd described the progression bluntly: Chaneyfield groomed the child online, drove to the child's neighborhood, picked him up, took him to his home, and assaulted him.

Instagram itself played a role in stopping the abuse. The platform flagged the suspicious activity to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, which launched the investigation. Judd praised the company's cooperation.

"Instagram was principal in stopping a child pedophile from sexually battering children while being HIV positive. If all other social media online did exactly what Instagram did, we could stop this."

That statement carries weight. Social media platforms have faced years of criticism for failing to detect predatory behavior targeting minors. In this case, the system worked, but only after Chaneyfield had already allegedly abused the boy on at least three occasions.

Ten years working at a middle school, ordained in 2020

Chaneyfield spent a decade working at Crystal Lake Middle School before becoming a pastor. He was ordained in 2020 at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church. The combination of roles, school employee, pastor, and now accused child predator, makes the case especially alarming for the communities that trusted him with access to young people.

It is unclear when Chaneyfield's employment at the middle school began or ended, or whether he was still associated with the school at the time of his arrest. Those details have not been publicly released. The pattern, however, is one that communities across the country have confronted when individuals in positions of trust exploit their access to children.

Judd did not hold back about Chaneyfield's conduct or character. He called Chaneyfield "very aggressive and very adamant about having sex with apparently adults or children" and warned that the pastor's alleged pattern of behavior likely extends beyond the known victims.

"This is what he does. He sexually batters children."

Baltimore authorities gave "zero assistance" when deputies tried to arrest him

Before Chaneyfield was arrested in Orlando, authorities attempted to apprehend him in Baltimore, Maryland. Judd said the Maryland Department of Transportation Authority police at the airport provided "zero assistance" to deputies trying to take Chaneyfield into custody.

Judd was characteristically blunt about the lack of cooperation: "I don't expect any more than that, that place is a trainwreck anyways." The failed apprehension meant Chaneyfield remained free until he arrived in Orlando, where local police arrested him. The broader question of why a jurisdiction would decline to assist in apprehending a suspect accused of sexually abusing a child remains unanswered. Accountability failures like these, where institutions fail to act against accused predators in positions of religious authority, are not isolated incidents.

Chaneyfield was ultimately booked into Orange County Jail and transferred to Polk County, where the charges were filed. Whether he has entered a formal plea or retained legal counsel has not been publicly disclosed.

Judd's verdict on the accused pastor left nothing to interpretation

Sheriff Judd is known for direct, colorful language at press conferences, and this case was no exception. He repeatedly referred to Chaneyfield as a "dope-smoking pedophile preacher", a reference to the marijuana possession charge alongside the sexual abuse allegations. The charges against Chaneyfield have not yet resulted in a conviction, but Judd made clear he considers the case straightforward given the alleged confession.

Judd also described Chaneyfield as a "menace to society" and said investigators see no evidence supporting Chaneyfield's claim that he disclosed his HIV status to the child. The growing national reckoning over clergy abuse has made clear that communities cannot afford to assume the people behind the pulpit deserve automatic trust.

The 14-year-old boy at the center of this case is now undergoing medical treatment for potential HIV exposure because a man entrusted with spiritual leadership allegedly used that position to prey on a child. If the charges hold, Chaneyfield did not just betray his congregation, he weaponized the trust that comes with the title "pastor" against the most vulnerable person in the room.

Communities hand enormous trust to their clergy. When that trust is exploited to harm children, the failure is not just one man's, it belongs to every institution that looked the other way or moved too slowly to act.