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Former ‘pray-away-the-gay’ activist charged in child sex sting, Orange deputies say
The Virginian Pilot ^ | May 19, 2026 | Cristobal Reyes

Posted on 05/21/2026 7:17:09 AM PDT by Red Badger

Alan Chambers, 54, was arrested Tuesday, May 19, 2026, for solicitation of a minor in an undercover sting in which he believed he was speaking to a 14-year-old boy, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Chambers was president of the anti-LGBTQ group Exodus International before it shuttered in 2013. (Orange County Corrections Department)

The former president of a widely-known anti-LGBTQ organization has been arrested for seeking sex from an undercover deputy posing as a 14-year-old boy, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Alan Chambers, 54, of Winter Park was booked in the Orange County Jail Tuesday on charges of soliciting a minor, transmitting material harmful to minors and unlawfully using a two-way communications device. An affidavit obtained from the Sheriff’s Office describes lewd text messages exchanged with the undercover deputy through the social media app Snapchat and later through text-messaging service Telegram.

Chambers led a “pray-away-the-gay” ministry, Exodus International, from 2001 until 2013 when he shut it down and apologized to those he said had been hurt by the organization.

Before his arrest, Chambers was listed as president of the Park Avenue District, the nonprofit organization representing businesses in the downtown Winter Park corridor. He also worked as vice president of operations at John Craig Clothier, a luxury menswear store on Park Avenue. In 2023, Chambers was named “best-dressed booster” by Winter Park Magazine.

According to a sheriff’s office affidavit, from Feb. 10 through May 4, Chambers is accused of repeatedly seeking to meet with a teenager for sex. On Tuesday morning, detectives said they interviewed Chambers during a traffic stop on Aloma Avenue and Strathy Lane, where he confirmed the accounts he was messaging from were his but stopped the interview when he was asked about the conversations.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said investigators are working to find out whether there are other victims. On Wednesday, Chambers was given a $15,000 bond, ordered not to have contact with any minors and prohibited access or use to social media or messaging apps, during a hearing with an Orange County judge.

Chambers helmed the Orlando-based Exodus International as part of the so-called “ex-gay” movement and was a fervent proponent of conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. He also served as associate pastor at Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando until 2005.

He previously said he reached out to the ministry at 19 as he sought to “feel about women the way I felt about men.” He wrote two books about homosexuality, including a supposed “practical guide” in 2009 entitled “Leaving Homosexuality.” His third and most recent release, a 2015 memoir called “My Exodus: From Fear to Grace,” explores his departure from Exodus International.

Exodus International closed its doors after 37 years and a peak of 260 affiliated ministries across North America, with Chambers, a father of two, apologizing to the LGBTQ community for years of “undue suffering and at the hands of the organization and the [Christian] church as a whole.”

John Craig Clothier did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, but a statement issued by the Park Avenue District said Chambers is “no longer associated with the organization.”

“Out of respect for the legal process, we will not comment further on the specifics of the case,” the statement read. “Our focus remains on continuing to support the Park Avenue community and the many businesses, events, and initiatives that make this district such a special part of Winter Park.”


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Florida
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1 posted on 05/21/2026 7:17:09 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: V_TWIN

Ping...............


2 posted on 05/21/2026 7:17:41 AM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
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To: Red Badger

Politics and religion are the last refuge of a scoundrel.


3 posted on 05/21/2026 7:19:36 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: Red Badger

Perversion is a behavior

Behaviors are complex, meaning there isn’t just one cause.

One of the big causes of this behavior is imprinting. I encourage everyone to do some research on that and gain some understanding.

Addictions ALWALYS FIND AND RECRUIT OTHERS. They define themselves by their behavior and find others with the same behavior.


4 posted on 05/21/2026 7:21:20 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: PeterPrinciple

Pray the gay away sounds ridiculous. I wonder how many conservatives gave him money thinking he was solution to all their problems of their children who could’ve been gay and sent them to this Exodus place.

Thankfully, nobody my family has that issue but if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t go to a place that calls it. Pray the gay away sounds odd.


5 posted on 05/21/2026 7:29:44 AM PDT by napscoordinator (DeSantis is a beast! Florida is the freest state in the country! )
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To: GSWarrior

Agreed.


6 posted on 05/21/2026 7:30:04 AM PDT by Hyman Roth
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To: Red Badger

Color me not surprised. You can’t “pray away the gay”. It’s proven not to be effective plus it actually causes harm. This guy was running a scam and I’m not surprised he was in the closet. Couldn’t happened to a more deserving guy


7 posted on 05/21/2026 7:34:31 AM PDT by Sir_Humphrey (I'll support Trump when I think he's right. I'll oppose him when I think he's wrong. As it should be)
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To: GSWarrior
Politics and religion are the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Maybe so, but that doesn't apply to this dog returned to his own vomit.

He left religion to become a regular "gay" activist. It's no wonder that he is being charged with these new crimes against minors.

8 posted on 05/21/2026 7:36:08 AM PDT by fwdude (Why is there a "far/radical right," but damned if they'll admit that there is a far/radical left)
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To: fwdude

Woodchipper material


9 posted on 05/21/2026 7:38:24 AM PDT by Manuel OKelley
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To: napscoordinator
Pray the gay away sounds odd.

Understand that that was a derogatory term coined by the homo-left to describe what Christian ministries sought to accomplish. Christian ministries didn't use this terminology.

10 posted on 05/21/2026 7:38:52 AM PDT by fwdude (Why is there a "far/radical right," but damned if they'll admit that there is a far/radical left)
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To: Sir_Humphrey
You know not of which you speak.

Chambers WAS admittedly gay before he started Exodus. He may have had a genuine transformation and repentance, but he returned to his own vomit like a dog.

Let me ask you, can prayer accomplish anything of substance? Or is it just a nice, platitudinous formality?

11 posted on 05/21/2026 7:44:09 AM PDT by fwdude (Why is there a "far/radical right," but damned if they'll admit that there is a far/radical left)
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To: Red Badger

It was just a front to him to diddle little boys


12 posted on 05/21/2026 7:54:25 AM PDT by bigbob (We are all Charlie Kirk now)
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To: Red Badger

He fell from grace.

Sad tale. Glad he was caught. I suspect he is repenting those actions.


13 posted on 05/21/2026 7:56:53 AM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: Sir_Humphrey

Causes harm? What kind of harm? How so? Contrast that with the harm caused by engaging in homosexual behavior. Compare and contrast these harms. Then, with common sense, come to a reasonable conclusion.


14 posted on 05/21/2026 7:57:51 AM PDT by Ge0ffrey (No.)
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To: Red Badger

It’s common for ex-queers to backslide as they age.


15 posted on 05/21/2026 8:04:17 AM PDT by nagant
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To: Red Badger

The biggest gay-haters ALWAYS turn out to be closet cases.


16 posted on 05/21/2026 8:07:20 AM PDT by babble-on
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To: Red Badger
I have never heard of this:

...unlawfully using a two-way communications device.

So, he used a phone to 'set up' a meeting?

How many years could that add-on to his upcoming sentence? It just seems weird to me.

17 posted on 05/21/2026 8:09:00 AM PDT by spankalib
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To: Sir_Humphrey

I guess he didn’t pray hard enough


18 posted on 05/21/2026 8:12:50 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: spankalib

It’s been a law since 2001:

BRAVE AI:

Unlawfully using a two-way communications device in furtherance of a felony has been illegal in Florida since October 1, 2001.The specific statute, Florida Statute 934.215, makes it a third-degree felony to use a two-way wireless communications device to facilitate or further any felony offense.


5 Years / $5000 or both.............


19 posted on 05/21/2026 8:15:58 AM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
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To: Red Badger

If anything, this shows not the problem with religion it shows that homosexuality causes a person to publicly attack his own lifestyle because his lifestyle is based on a self hatred


20 posted on 05/21/2026 8:48:09 AM PDT by ac-rep
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