NORTH CAROLINA, January 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – North Carolina Democrat Governor Roy Cooper attended a fundraiser hosted by a transgender rights activist who is a registered sex offender last month.

As Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce (CLGBTCC) president, Chad Sevearance-Turner led the campaign for transgender bathroom usage in North Carolina enabling biological men to occupy private spaces once used exclusively by women and girls.

The ensuing battle over the legislative measure – known as HB2 – took the national spotlight as major corporations, celebrities, and even sports leagues weighed in on the issue.

In 2016, when it was revealed that Turner had been been convicted of sexually abusing boys and sentenced to 10 years in prison, he stepped down from his role as president, but was quietly reinstated months later.

Cooper and CLGBTCC are longtime allies. While still serving as North Carolina’s attorney general, Cooper refused to defend HB2. He called the law to prevent predatory men from legally invading female locker rooms and restrooms a “national embarrassment.”

In an official group photo taken at the CLGBTCC’s recent holiday gala, the governor is shown standing shoulder to shoulder with the registered sex offender.

A report published by Women are Human states:

In 1998, 20-year-old Sevearance-Turner took advantage of his position as music minister at a church by sexually violating underage boys who were members of the congregation. Three boys accused the music minister of unwanted sexual contact. According to his victims, Sevearance-Turner would invite adolescent boys to his house, show the boys pornographic videos of men and women engaged in sex acts, and ask the boys sexual questions. Sevearance-Turner’s pattern was to have visiting boys sleep in the bed beside him. If multiple boys were visiting, they would all sleep in the bed alongside Chad. Once the boys had fallen asleep, Sevearance-Turner would sexually assault each boy. The boys would awaken to Sevearance-Turner manually manipulating their private parts.

Progressive political leaders, such as Governor Cooper, and liberal media have long been willing to turn a blind eye to the transgender activist’s predatory sexual behavior with teenage boys.

In 2016, a reporter with the Charlotte Observer confirmed for Breitbart that the Observer had frequently relied on Sevearance-Turner for quotes during the very public HB2 battle.