(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 th …