ANNANDALE (VA)
Diocese of Arlington VA
February 28, 2025
By Diocese of Arlington
The Catholic Diocese of Arlington has learned that Dr. Eric Sean Williams of Annandale was arrested on Thursday, February 27 in Fairfax County and criminally charged on multiple counts of sexual assault involving a minor.
Until his arrest, Dr. Williams was a long-term substitute teacher since January 2019 and volunteer since October 2016 at St. Michael’s Catholic School in Annandale. His volunteer activities included CYO coaching. No known criminal incidents took place on parish or school property.
As a condition of his teaching and volunteering, Dr. Williams underwent a criminal background check and completed VIRTUS safe environment training on the prevention and reporting of abuse. Dr. Williams first became VIRTUS compliant as a condition of his volunteering in 2016 and had maintained his compliance up to the time of his arrest.
Anyone with any relevant information regarding Dr. Williams should immediately contact the Fairfax County Police Department by calling (703) 691-2131.
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.