Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Mr. Nichols specializes in cases involving injury to children in schools, churches, camps, mentoring programs, sports organizations, and afterschool programs. From 1994 to 2016 he served as Vice President of child safety and facilities for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In that role he shaped the policies and practices that helped protect over 4 million youth at over 4,000 sites in the U.S. and abroad. In 2016, Mr. Nichols entered private practice and serves as an expert witness in civil cases involving child sexual abuse within youth-serving organizations and schools, as well as a safety consultant to schools. Mr. Nichols has authored, co-authored, or contributed to over 40 articles and publications concerning protecting people from harm. Recent publications include: • "4 Ways to Address Child Sexual Abuse in Schools," Campus Safety Magazine, 2021 (author) • Recommended Guidelines & Best Practices: Background Screening in Youth-Serving Organizations, 3rd Ed., 2021 (Contributor & reviewer) • Extreme Violence: Understanding & Protecting People from Active Assailants, Hate Crimes & Terrorist Attacks, 2021 (Co-author) • Maryland Guidelines & Best Practices for the Design, Assessment & Modification of Physical Facilities & Spaces to Reduce Opportunities for Child Sexual Abuse, 2020 (Contributor & reviewer) He is the past president of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, is a Certified Protection Professional through ASIS International and holds a Master's Degree in Security Administration. He has served as an expert witness or fact witness in over 30 cases involving injury to children under the care of an organization. Some examples include: • School bus driver molests a student on the bus • Music instructor grooms and molests his teen female student • Major sports organization’s screening process misses red flags • College ministry fails to provide oversight to prevent an accidental death • Disabled child is molested by another disabled child on a bus • Sports organization fails to audit its child protection program • Church volunteer systematically grooms and molests young boys • Teens rape a special needs female student at school between classes • Child is injured on a roof during an afterschool program • Organization fails to provide affiliates with up-to-date sex abuse prevention resources