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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A former president of an Orlando-based Christian church is accused of soliciting a teen boy for sex through social media.
After a four-month investigation – in which an Orange County detective was working undercover as a 14-year-old boy living in Orlando – Alan Chambers, 54, who works at a clothing store in Winter Garden, was arrested at a traffic stop.
Chambers is the former president of Exodus International, a ministry that took part in counseling gays to change their sexual orientation, FOX News reported.
What we know:
Alan Chambers, 54, is facing several charges, including solicitation of a minor, transmission of harmful materials to minors and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Chambers was arrested following a May 18 traffic stop after a detective communicated for months with an online user – believed to be Chambers – who they say sent images of his private body parts to someone he believed to be a 14-year-old and repeatedly communicated that he wanted to have sex with that teen, the sheriff's office said.
The backstory:
The investigation began in February when an undercover detective on Snapchat – which FOX 35 will refer to as "the teen" – came into contact with the user jdwp50 – a 50-year-old man from Orlando, named John David, an arrest affidavit said. Through a search warrant submitted to Google, investigators determined "David" to be Alan Manning Chambers, 54, the sheriff's office said.
Communication between "the teen" and "David" consisted of "David" repeatedly communicating he wanted to meet, kiss and have sex with "the teen," the arrest affidavit said. "David" also repeatedly expressed concern over their age difference, saying, "Is it bad that I want to make love to someone who is 14?" and by occasionally deleting communications to avoid anyone from finding the messages, the affidavit said.
Communication later switched to Telegram, with "David" operating under the username @AlexWP74, the sheriff's office said.
In March, "David" sent a picture of his face to "the teen," which was the same person as the other photos sent to "the teen," deputies said. The photo was of a bald, middle-aged white man, the affidavit said.
In April, "David" asked to meet up at his Winter Park office. On May 6, "David" reached out to "the teen" again to see if they could meet.
Subscriber information links Chambers to the account, deputies say
By tracing a phone number on "David's" Snapchat account, – confirmed to be a bandwidth number – a search warrant with Google was conducted, the affidavit said. The detective said the subscriber information on the account had Chambers' name, birthday, personal email with his name and professional email to his Winter Park business.
The only communication between "the teen" and "David" recovered was from March 10. However, detectives uncovered other solicitation and communication to receive sex from male prostitutes, the arrest affidavit said.
Chambers confessed to communicating with a 14-year-old: Sheriff's Office
During Chambers' arrest, the sheriff's office said he admitted to communicating with a 14-year-old, known as "Rory" – whom he met on Snapchat. He also confirmed to having the Snapchat account JDWP50 and Telegram username of @AlexWP74, the affidavit said.
When asked what they talked about, Chambers replied the discussed meeting, but didn't specify what they would do, the sheriff's office said. Chambers declined to speak further on the matter, deputies said.
The Winter Park company also declined to speak further on the matter.
Connection to Exodus International
An AT&T subpoena for the account's phone number identifies the subscriber as Alan M L Chambers Foundation and a Winter Park address is listed as the billing and user address. This address is affiliated with Exodus International. The foundation's name is listed on Chambers' Amazon biography for his publications.
Chambers served as president of Exodus International from 2001 until the church dissolved in 2013, his biography said.
His list of published works include "My Exodus: From Fear to Grace," "God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door: Reaching the Heart of the Gay Men and Women in Your World" and "Leaving Homosexuality: A Practical Guide for Men and Women Looking for a Way Out."
In an interview with FOX News, Chambers said, "Exodus is here for people who want an alternative to homosexuality. There are thousands of people like me who have overcome this. I think there's room for more than one opinion on this subject, and giving people options isn't dangerous."
Search for more victims
What's next:
Chambers was transported to the Orange County Booking and Release Center.
Following his arrest, detectives are looking into any more possible victims who are minors.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office's non-emergency line at 407-836-4357.
Parents are asked to monitor children's activities online.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from the Orange County Sheriff's office.