The Catholic Diocese of Arlington has learned that Mr. Nick Zimmerman was arrested on April 7th by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and criminally charged on multiple counts, including possession of child pornography.
Mr. Zimmerman, a former physical education teacher at St. Veronica’s in Chantilly, resigned from St. Veronica in late February. The same day as his resignation, St. Veronica received an allegation against Mr. Zimmerman and that allegation was immediately reported to Child Protective Services and law enforcement. St. Veronica and the diocese cooperated fully with law enforcement in their investigation. As a condition of his teaching and volunteering, Mr. Zimmerman underwent a criminal background check and completed VIRTUS safe environment training on the prevention and reporting of abuse.
Mr. Zimmerman had been employed at the school from 2015 to 2025. His activities there included an after-school sports club. He also served as a coach with CYO sports. We are not aware of any misconduct that took place on school or parish property.
At this time, all known charges brought against Mr. Zimmerman involve activity that took place electronically and over the internet. Anyone with any relevant information regarding Mr. Zimmerman should immediately contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department by calling (703) 771-5202.
The Catholic 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 and school staff to ensure training and prevention policies are followed throughout our communities. No one with a credible allegation against them is serving with minors in the diocese.
We encourage anyone who may know of any abuse or misconduct on the part of any cleric, employee, or volunteer of the diocese to immediately notify civil authorities as well as to reach out to the diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator at (703) 841-2530.
