Is Every North Carolina Democrat Linked To The Same Child Molester?

A convicted child molester who now criss-crosses North Carolina as a gay activist is becoming a regular problem for North Carolina Democrats. 

In 2024, The Daily Wire reported that a Democrat running for North Carolina attorney general gave a full embrace to a registered sex offender during an awards ceremony. A year earlier, we reported that the same molester was given awards by two of the state’s most prominent pro-LGBTQ organizations.  

Now we can report that Chad Turner, the molester, once posed directly to the side of Roy Cooper, the former North Carolina governor who is now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.

Photos from a Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce event in December 2018 show Cooper as governor next to Chad Turner, who was convicted of fondling a 15-year-old boy while working at a church in South Carolina. Turner served just two years of a 10-year prison sentence after three teenage boys accused him of sexual abuse in 1998.  

Turner’s disgraceful crimes were widely known at the time of the event. Just two years earlier in 2016, Turner stepped down as president of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce after reports of his criminal history emerged. He remained an advisor for the group, and later returned to leadership.

Cooper stands next to Turner: screenshot from QNotes Carolinas.

Another photo from the event posted to Facebook was saved by North State Journal reporter AP Dillon and shows Turner smiling in the background as Cooper spoke at the event. 

Turner smiles at Cooper; Photo saved by AP Dillon.

At the event, Cooper spoke out about his opposition to a law known as the “bathroom bill” that kept gender-confused men out of women’s bathrooms. Cooper signed a repeal of the law once he became governor, calling it “mean-spirited” and “a stain” on the state’s reputation. 

“The [bathroom bill] repeal was an important first step in fighting discrimination and making sure the nation knows that North Carolina is open for business,” the governor said at the chamber of commerce event. 

Cooper is running against Republican candidate Michael Whatley to replace outgoing Senator Thom Tillis. The race could prove pivotal for control of the Senate as Republicans attempt to hold onto their narrow majority. Republicans have highlighted Cooper’s record as governor when he vetoed laws to shield kids from transgender procedures on minors and keep boys off girls’ sports teams. 

Three teenage boys came forward in 1998 accusing the then 20-year-old Turner of fondling them when he worked as a music minister at New Harvest Church of God in Gaffney, South Carolina. 

One 14-year-old victim said he woke up to Turner fondling him while sleeping at his house. The boy said that Turner had previously asked him what he would think about a man performing oral sex on him, according to reporting from the time. 

Another 15-year-old boy said that Turner showed him pornography and said the man fondled him when he stayed at his home. A third 15-year-old boy said Turner similarly molested him when he stayed at his home for several weeks. 

Turner ended up being convicted of one count of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 16. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2000, but was released after just two years behind bars. He is still on the state’s sex offender registry list. 

Turner, who, like Cooper, also fought against the bathroom law, now runs the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce organization. He did not respond to request for comment. 

When asked about the appearance alongside Turner, a spokesman for Cooper’s campaign accused his Republican rival of being associated with sex offenders.

“While Roy spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars and signing tough on crime laws as governor, Michael Whatley has continued to knowingly appoint, campaign with and elevate convicted child sex predators who spent time in prison,” a spokesman for Cooper’s campaign told The Daily Wire.

Cooper has attacked Whatley over his association with Harvey Lee West, a sex offender who held a leadership post in the state Republican party while Whatley led it.

Local fact-checkers have largely dismissed the attack as frivolous, given that West was first appointed before Whatley was in his position. West himself says the two of them were at odds with each other in the Republican Party, telling the fact-checkers, “Whatley did not like me.” West once backed Whatley’s opponent to lead the state GOP.

Republicans have also pushed back on Cooper’s claims he was tough on crime as governor, pointing to a deal he approved as governor that released dozens of rapists from prison over COVID concerns.

Asked about Cooper’s allegation, Whatley’s campaign brought up those decisions.

“There is only one person in this race who released rapists, pedophiles, and child molesters from prison to go on to terrorize North Carolinians: Roy Cooper. Cooper released 232 rapists, sex offenders, child predators, and molesters as governor. 99 then went on to be rearrested for rape, sexual assault, and child pornography charges,” said DJ Griffin, a spokesman for Whatley.

“Roy Cooper failed at his most basic job to protect our kids and keep North Carolinians safe,” he added.

The sex offender would go on to be active in promoting LGBT causes.

In December 2022, Turner presented an award to North Carolina Democrat attorney general candidate Jeff Jackson for “advancing equity.” Footage of the event, which was obtained by The Daily Wire in October 2024, showed Turner hugging Jackson. Despite the revelation, Jackson would go on to defeat Republican Dan Bishop in November 2024 to become attorney general of North Carolina. 

Turner was chosen in August 2023 by Charlotte Pride to win a 2023 Harvey Milk Award for LGBT activism. The organization called Turner a “highly accomplished leader in human resources” whose career has been “driven by a deep commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).” His name was later scrubbed from the Charlotte Pride website after backlash for awarding a child sex offender. 

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