(RNS) — The former leader of a now-defunct ex-gay ministry was arrested in Florida on Tuesday morning (May 19) in connection with a sheriff’s department sting.
In an arrest affidavit, an undercover officer alleged that 54-year-old Alan Chambers, the former president of Exodus International, which disbanded in 2013, exchanged sexual messages for several months with someone he thought was a teenager.
“Alan Chambers has been arrested after he attempted to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy — but it was actually an undercover detective,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post on Tuesday.
According to the sheriff’s office, Chambers has been charged with solicitation of a minor and transmission of harmful material to minors, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Chambers also allegedly paid for sexual favors from male prostitutes, according to the affidavit.
As president of Exodus International, Chambers gained national notoriety for promoting “reparative therapy” — also known as conversion therapy — aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity, for LGBT people. The process was referred to by critics as “pray the gay away.”
The work of the ex-gay movement was also championed by critics of same-sex marriage, including James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. Chambers had also advocated for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and for California’s Proposition 8, a state ban on same-sex marriage that was ruled unconstitutional.
In 2013, Chambers apologized for his actions and announced Exodus International would shut down.
“I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents,” Chambers said in the apology. “I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite — or worse.”
In his apology, Chambers said the ministry had harmed people who came to it for help.
“I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct and false hope,” he said. “In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me.”
The ministry was the subject of a 2021 documentary called “Pray Away.”
Conversion therapy has been back in the news recently, after a Supreme Court decision saying a Colorado ban on the practice was unconstitutional.
Chambers, who is married and has two children, said at the time of his apology that he still experienced same-sex attraction. According to the police report, he works for a clothing company in Florida.
Chambers did not respond immediately to voice and text messages seeking comment.
An undercover officer alleged he first made contact with Chambers on Snapchat in February. At the time, the officer identified himself as a 14-year-old boy. Chambers then allegedly began to send sexual messages about their “forbidden love” for months.
The officer obtained a warrant for a Snapchat account allegedly belonging to Chambers and later got warrants for Chambers’ Google account and cellphone. On Tuesday, the officer pulled Chambers over for a traffic stop and arrested him.
The arresting officer said Chambers admitted communicating with a 14-year-old who Chambers said he’d met on Snapchat.
“When I asked him what they discussed, he told me that they discussed meeting but would not specify to do what,” the officer wrote in an arrest affidavit.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office officials have asked the public to contact them with any information about possible other victims.