Child & Adolescent Sexual Child Abuse Investigation and Prevention Consultant

40 years of experience

Investigating and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

  • 28 years in criminal investigations
  • 15 years in YSO prevention
  • Internationally recognized
  • Over 600 presentations & consultations
  • Over 1,000 criminal and civil investigations

Michael (Mike) V. Johnson, BSCJ (retired)

Michael Johnson (“Detective Mike”) is an internationally recognized expert on all aspects of child abuse and exploitation and specializes in abuse investigation, detection, and prevention efforts for organizations serving youth.

Michael Johnson was the Youth Protection Advisor/Director for the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) from July 2010 to December 2020, where he advised on efforts to improve youth protection policies, training, and procedures to ensure the safest possible environment for BSA youth.  Johnson is credited with acting as a change agent to strengthen BSA’s “Youth Protection” program, and he led the BSA’s efforts to provide ongoing support to survivors and a trauma-informed response to victims of abuse in the organization.

Prior to BSA, Johnson served 24 of his 28 years as the Lead Detective and Family Violence/Abuse Investigator in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Plano, Texas Police Department.  In that role, he focused exclusively on interviewing victims, interrogating perpetrators, and investigating child abuse cases, including child sexual abuse and exploitation.          

An early pioneer and visionary in the field, Johnson was at the forefront of promoting the multidisciplinary team investigative approach and the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) movement in the early 1990s.  He is a founder of the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center and its multidisciplinary team.

In 2019, the American Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) recognized Detective Michael Johnson as “one of the most influential pioneers in the investigation of suspected child maltreatment”.

Detective Mike is a highly sought after expert, speaker and thought leader in the investigation and prevention of child sexual abuse.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in psychology from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.  He lives in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area of Texas.

“Mike has the unique ability to not only know Best Practice as a trainer of child abuse investigations, but he’s “walked the walk” of an investigator investigating child abuse.  

He delivers the message from a non-fictional vantage point and sees through the excuses sometimes offered by professionals.  He reminds us that a child’s life is valuable and should be treated as such.  He understands the dynamics of an investigation – the team roles, the interactions of a MDT and the way in which a team should operate – as a result of his own personal experience, knowledge, successes and failures.  

He is able to offer us real solutions based on actual experiences versus some “pie in the sky” solutions that just won’t work.  He challenges us to reach down deep and remember those children that deserve our best – and on their timelines, not ours.  He is one of us, someone dedicated to protecting children.  His presentations are applicable, on target and challenging to all professionals working with victims of child abuse.”

 Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director

Trainings

About Our Trainings

“All my trainings are skills-based and grounded in practical experience.  Each training is trauma-informed, victim- and family-sensitive, and utilizes current applicable research.  Each is primarily focused on the criminal investigations to achieve justice in the criminal, civil and family court system. My trainings are applicable and useful to all Multidisciplinary Team members.“ 

Detective Mike

Multidisciplinary Team Investigation Training

  • 28-year Law Enforcement career; 24 years as a Detective investigating crimes against children
  • Personally investigated over 1,000 child abuse cases
  • Founder of Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, one of the first in the nation to co-house all MDT members under one roof
  • Founder of MDT; including the development of Programs, Protocols, Practices and Procedures
  • Board of Directors, National Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers
  • Advisory Board Member, National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth
  • Two time Board Member, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
  • Recognized as “one of the most influential pioneers in the investigation of suspected child maltreatment”, The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
  • Past President, APSAC Texas State Chapter and Host of the San Antonio Colloquium
  • Recognized by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, D.C.) as one of 150 renowned experts in the nation
  • Contributing Expert, National Plan to End Interpersonal Violence, Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma
  • Contributing Expert, Victor Vieth’s Unto the Third Generation: A Call to End Child Abuse in the United States Within 120 Years
  • Contributing Expert, Office of Victims of Crime Vision 21
  • Presenter at over 700 conferences nationally and internationally
  • Board Member, Native American Children’s Alliance (NACA)
  • Selected by United States Attorney General Janet Reno for recognition of 150 Child Maltreatment Professionals
  • Selected by United States Attorney General Eric Holder as an Expert Addressing Exploitation in America

IT Takes Team to Protect A Child: The Experience of Little Suzy

It Takes a Team to Protect a Child – Making the Case: MDT Investigative Corroboration

Victimology: For the Criminal Investigator Understanding the Victim of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Gaining Cooperation and Supporting Maternal Non-Offending Caregivers (In Sexual ABUSE Cases)

Gaining Cooperation From and Supporting Suspected Non-Offending caregivers in Abuse, AHT and Child Death Investigations

Understanding Child Sex Offenders and other Sexual Deviants

Interrogation of Child Sex Offenders

MDT Investigations of Juveniles Who Commit Sex Offenses

Bridging the Gap Between Forensic Interview and Law Enforcement Investigation

Combatting Defense Strategies in CSA and CA Cases

MDT Response, Coordination and Collaboration

MDT The ART of Investigative Corroboration CSAE or Abuse: Making A Case

Multidisciplinary Team Investigation of Child Abuse, Neglect, AHT and Death

Research of CAC and MDT Practice: Implications From Outcry to Prosecution

Organizations Serving Youth, Parents, and Survivors

  • Director of Youth Protection, National Office of the Boy Scouts of America, for 10.5 Years
  • Created original content for “Youth Protection Training” utilizing survivors, experts, and scenarios for adults, staff volunteers and youth
  • Expert on Boy Scouts of America Sexual Abuse Program
  • Created or enhanced existing policies, procedures and protocols
  • Created a 24/7 trauma-informed response system
  • Created response protocols for Registered Sexual Offenders, Child Exploitation Stings, Youth Abuse of Program Youth, Survivor Response
  • Directed five International Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Symposiums in four states
  • Consultant to numerous international, federal, national, state, NGO and civil society organizations, including FBI, Office of Victims of Crime, Sex Offender Registration and Notification
  • Recognized by two U.S. Attorney’s General offices as part of the 100 Most Influential Professionals in the Nation
  • Consulting Expert for the Center for Disease Control Foundation’s two-year project initiative with the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, Child Safety in Youth Serving Organizations: Creating Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments; tasked with revising the 2007 publication Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth Serving Organizations

Institutional Failure: the Sexual Abuse of Over 82,000 Boys in the Boys Scouts of America

Lessons Every Organization Serving Youth Need to Know and Understand About the Prevention of Sexual Abuse

Scouts, Sins, and Institutional Sexual Abuse: Investigating and Responding to Youth Serving Organization

The Predator Amongst Us: How Trusted Adults Are Sexual Abusing America’s Youth and What You Need To Do About It

Ten Things Every Parent Needs to Know and DO before Signing their Child Up for Youth Programs

Consultations, Investigations & Assessments

Expert Consultations

Expert Consultant · Organizations Serving Youth · Content Development · Evaluation · Site and Program Risk Assessment · Crisis Incident Response Protocol · Civil Litigation

Available to provide expert testimony on:

  • The development, management, and standard of care for youth protection programs
  • Grooming and sexual abuse
  • Ways in which sex offenders operate to evade detection both within and outside organizations serving youth

Media

Resources

American Professional Society on the abuse of children

Center for disease control: division of violence prevention

Zero abuse project

Contact

Michael (Mike) V. Johnson, BSCJ

Detective, Retired
Child and Youth Sexual Abuse Prevention & Investigation Consultant
Detective Mike, LLC

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