IRVING, Texas—A controversial anti-gay counselor was convicted last week of two counts of sexual assault against gay men he was purportedly trying to turn straight.

Christopher Austin, 43, runs the Renew Ministries program based in Irving, a suburb of Dallas/Ft. Worth. The program claims to help gay men become straight. Prosecutors said Austin instead used his counseling sessions to sexually abuse some of his clients. He was sentenced to seven years probation, a $2,500 fine and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Austin also has ties to a national anti-gay group, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.

Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, a group that provides education on “ex-gay” groups, expressed satisfaction that “this ‘ex-gay’ predator is no longer in the counseling business.”

“‘Ex-gay’ therapy is extremely dangerous and places confused clients in the hands of repressed therapists,” Besen said. “It is a recipe for disaster.”