Assistant principle arrested for sexual abuse of a child

A 10-year-old girl came forward to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Crimes Against Children task force to disclose that she had been sexually abused.

CAC detectives began their investigation into the matter on February 8, and on February 11, after "an extensive investigation," 42-year-old Matthew Lin Johnson was arrested and booked into the West Valley Detention Center on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14 and lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14.  He is being held without bail and his first court appearance was scheduled for this afternoon.

Investigators with the CAC determined that Johnson had sexually abused the girl multiple times between the ages of 7 and 8.

In a statement sent to media outlets by Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, she stated that "the victim and suspect are known to each other," but did not disclose what the relationship was.

At the time of his arrest, investigators had found no evidence of "inappropriate contact with students" at Oak Hills High School where he was employed as the Assistant Principle.  He has been placed on leave by the Hesperia Unified School District pending the outcome of the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Deputy Vanayes Quezada of the Specialized Investigations Division, Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 387-3615. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.  The case number to reference is DR#182100677 C#2021-027.