Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A Winter Haven pastor and hospice chaplain is behind bars after law enforcement arrested him on several charges involving minors and undisclosed health risks, according to officials.
Winter Haven pastor arrest
What we know:
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is expected to hold a conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the PCSO Sheriff's Operations Center in Winter Haven to detail the arrest of 42-year-old Timothy Chaneyfield. Chaneyfield, 42, serves as a pastor at St. James United American Free Will Baptist Church in Winter Haven. He also informed detectives that he works as a chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice of Lakeland.
Deputies arrested Chaneyfield on a wide array of charges, including three counts of lewd battery of a minor, three counts of interfering with custody of a minor, three counts of travelling to meet a minor, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Additionally, authorities charged him with four counts of an HIV infected person having sex without informing their partner, possession of cannabis, and five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Details awaiting release
What we don't know:
Authorities have not yet released specific details regarding how investigators uncovered the alleged crimes or the timeline of the offenses. Officials have also not disclosed whether there are additional potential victims linked to the case.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which announced Chaneyfield’s charges and details of an upcoming press conference.