R. Leslie Nichols MSSA CPP CPG

Expert Witness At-a-Glance:

• 70+ cases retained (2016–2025)
• 24 depositions/2 trial appearances
• Balanced practice: 60% plaintiff / 40% defense
• Case focus: Child sexual abuse (90%); injury, death or bullying (10%)
• Sectors: Religious (35%), Schools (25%), Sports (20%), Mentoring (10%), Residential care/treatment (7%)
• Courts: Federal (21%) and State/Local (79%) across 20+ jurisdictions

Mr. Nichols has over 30 years' experience at the national and local level involving the protection of children. In 2016 he retired as the National Vice President of Child & Club Safety, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where he oversaw the creation of the organization's child protection program, which shaped the policies and practices of thousands of local Boys & Girls Club affiliates and helped to protect millions of children across the U.S. and overseas. Mr. Nichols is a national thought leader and has participated in numerous, national-level projects to prevent child injury in organizations, including:

• S. PROTECT Act Background Check Pilot Program (FBI and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
• LexisNexis Customer Advisory Board on Background Screening
• Staff Screening Tool Kit, 3rd Ed. (Nonprofit Risk Management Center)
• Preventing Child Sexual Abuse within Youth-Serving Organizations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Maryland Guidelines for the Design, Assessment & Modification of Physical Facilities & Spaces to Reduce Opportunities for Child Sexual Abuse (SCCAN)
• Recommended Guidelines & Best Practices: Background Screening in Youth-Serving Organizations, 3rd Ed. (National Council for Youth Sports)
• National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
• States Policy Exchange on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
• Partner Alliance for Safer Schools

Mr. Nichols has authored over 40 articles on protection, including co-authoring the textbook, Extreme Violence: Understanding and Protecting People from Active Assailants, Hate Crimes, and Terrorist Attacks (2021). Cognella Academic Publishing. He has presented at numerous conferences in the U.S. and abroad and has been quoted in print, broadcast and digital media. His education and specialized training includes:

• Master of Science, Enterprise Risk Management (graduation Fall 2026)
• Master of Science, Security Administration (2015)
• Bachelor of Architecture (1977)
• Graduate Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management
• Graduate Certificate in Emergency Planning
• Board Certified Protection Professional through ASIS International (active)
• Board Certified Praesidium Guardian through Praesidium (active)
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) through National Crime Prevention Institute

Examples of civil cases where Mr. Nichols has been retained include:

• Youth-seving organization staff/volunteer (youth minister, teacher, bus driver, scoutmaster, school counselor, coach) sexually abuses a minor in the program
• Staff at a commercial business catering to minors abuses a minor customer
• Older minor sexually/physically abuses younger minor in a youth-serving program
• Negligent physical injury/death of minor in a youth-serving program