Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2628

Tonight's special guest is John-Michael Lander from Kettering, Ohio, who grew up in a poor family in a small farm community in Ohio. "My parents were barely living from paycheck to paycheck, feeding and raising six children," John-Michael says. "Springboard/platform diving was an expensive sport" he goes on. "When I was fifteen years old, I took eight in the Junior Olympics and dreamed about the Olympics when a lawyer presented my mother an offer she could not refuse. Through the lawyer, I was introduced to my coaches, the medical team, and sponsors who sexually abused me." Now he speaks out about his experiences. "My life was in shambles, filled with secrets, and confusing. I was filled with such shame and continuously berated and blaming myself as being my fault. I had no one to turn to because when I tried to tell my mom, she slapped me and said that it wasn't nice to make up lies about people." John-Michael is getting the word out in many ways. "I have written the serial ''Surface Series based on my traumatic experience, including 'Surface Tension', 'Cracked Surface', and soon to be published, 'Broken Surface'. I have had the honor to speak at the 2019 and 2020 National Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit in Washington, D.C.; on the Discussion panel twice for the Netflix film, 'Athlete A'; provided testimony for CHILD USA's End Game and to Maryland Legislation's Statute of Limitation Policy; and I have spoken in England and Canada. I broke my silence in October 2018 when I shared my story on the TEDxDayton stage."