Former youth minister from Reston church faces unlawful filming charges

A former youth minister at a Reston church faces multiple charges related to the unlawful filming of a minor.

Douglas Johnson worked as a youth minister at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston from 2005 to 2018. The Chesapeake Police Department told Reston Now that Johnson voluntarily turned himself in to police on Sept. 25.

He faces six criminal charges related to unlawful videotaping a female minor in Chesapeake, according to a statement released by the church.

In a statement, the Catholic Archdiocese of Arlington stated that he underwent a criminal background check and completed training to prevent and report abuse as a condition of employment.

Prior to his employment, he volunteered at both St. John Neumann and St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church in Reston.

Here’s more from the archdiocese on the issue:

No known complaints or allegations have been made against Johnson related to his time as an employee and volunteer at St. John Neumann and a volunteer at St. Thomas à Becket. If you are aware of misconduct or abuse on the part of any cleric, employee, or volunteer of the Diocese, immediately notify civil authorities and reach out to the diocesan Office of Child Protection and Victim Assistance at (703) 841-2530.

The Diocese of Arlington has a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and is fully committed to training our clergy, staff and volunteers to identify and report suspected instances of abuse. All clergy, staff and volunteers undergo mandatory abuse prevention and awareness training, and safe environment training is also provided to students in the Diocese’s schools, religious education and youth programs. Anyone who works with minors must also undergo background checks every five years. The diocesan Office of Child Protection and Victim Assistance works with parish staff to ensure training and prevention policies are followed throughout our parishes and schools. No one with a credible allegation against them is serving with minors in the Diocese.