Gay conversion therapist busted soliciting 'hookups' on LGBT dating apps: report

An LGBT advocacy group claims it has caught a gay conversion therapist red-handed soliciting "hookups" on LGBT mobile dating apps.

NBC News reports that Wayne Besen, the founder and executive director of Truth Wins Out, recently discovered a profile belonging to Norman Goldwasser, a Florida psychologist who claims that he can turn gay people straight and who has compared homosexuality to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Besen tells NBC News that he recognized Goldwasser -- who went by the screen name "hotnhairy72" -- through his photos and decided to create a fake profile to determine if the profile really belonged to the notorious "ex-gay" therapist.

After Goldwasser agreed to meet Besen at a hotel room, Besen called him and revealed that he'd created a fake profile and confronted him about his work "converting" LGBT people.

Besen says the doctor initially denied he was really behind the profile -- but then he sent him a series of saved screen shots.

"I promptly texted the Manhunt screenshot,” Besen tells NBC. “He then called me and confessed, begging for mercy."

In an email to NBC, Goldwasser said that he was horrified that Besen went to the media with his story -- but he vowed to undergo gay conversion therapy himself to make things right.

"The fact that this story and others have been brought to the public is incredibly painful but will become a catalyst for me seeking the right help for myself," he said. "It is sad that despite the fact that I have been able to help many people over the years who have suffered from the effects of child sexual abuse and sexual addiction, I obviously was unable to help myself."