A prominent anti-homosexuality activist, known for leading the 'pray away the gay' movement, has been arrested on charges of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer who posed as a teenage boy.
Alan Chambers, 54, was taken into custody on Tuesday following an undercover sting operation conducted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida. According to the arrest affidavit, Chambers sent explicit messages via Snapchat to a detective he believed was a 14-year-old boy and repeatedly attempted to arrange a meeting.
The affidavit, first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, details communications between Chambers and the undercover officer from February 10 to May 4. Chambers allegedly suggested moving their conversations to the encrypted platform Telegram to avoid detection.
Chambers, a former leader of the 'ex-gay' movement, was pulled over during a traffic stop on Tuesday morning and questioned about the messages. After initially admitting ownership of the accounts, he ended the interview when the topic shifted to his exchanges with the purported minor.
Following his arrest, Chambers was granted a $15,000 bond. The court ordered him to have no contact with minors and to refrain from using any social media messaging applications.
Chambers was best known as the president of Exodus International, a Christian ministry that promoted conversion therapy to change sexual orientation. He led the organization from 2001 until its closure in 2014, when he issued a public apology for the harm caused by the group's activities.
After leaving Exodus International, Chambers served as president of the Park Avenue District, a business advocacy group in Winter Park, Florida. The organization has since stated that he is 'no longer associated' with them following his arrest. He also held a position as vice president of operations at John Craig Clothier, a luxury menswear store on Park Avenue. The company has not responded to requests for comment.
During his tenure as an anti-homosexuality activist, Chambers frequently made headlines for admitting his own attraction to men while insisting that he was not gay and that Christianity had 'saved' him from his sexuality. He publicly advocated for conversion therapy, claiming that gay individuals could overcome their orientation through prayer.
At its peak, Exodus International oversaw more than 260 Christian ministries across 17 countries, making Chambers a prominent figure in anti-homosexual politics in the United States. In a 2013 interview with BuzzFeed, he recounted his struggles: 'It was puberty when I realized all the boys in my class liked girls and I liked all the boys. Then the prayers started every night: God, fix me. Cure me. Heal me. Whatever I've done to become this dirty, rotten sinner, fix this.'
Chambers married his wife Leslie in 2006, and the couple adopted two children, who were often featured in promotional materials for his anti-homosexuality advocacy. He recalled reaching out to a ministry at age 19, desperately wanting to 'feel about women the way I felt about men.'
In 2013, Chambers closed Exodus International and issued an apology to the LGBTQ+ community, acknowledging the 'undue suffering' caused by the organization and the broader church.
