Kendall Tietz
The teenage suspect in the Loudoun County Public Schools bathroom rape scandal was found guilty on all charges, ABC 7News reported.
The victim alleged that she was raped by a student wearing a dress in a girls’ bathroom in May at Stone Bridge High School, a member of the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) district. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD) confirmed that a sexual assault did occur on May 28 at the high school, as alleged by the victim, ABC 7News reported.
LCSD arrested a 14-year-old boy in the case, according to a Wednesday statement, ABC 7News reported. The judge ruled that the facts were sufficient to show that the defendant committed a forcible assault, The Stanley Law Group, which represented the victim, told ABC 7News.
The father of the sexual assault victim, Scott Smith, was arrested at a school board meeting which he attended after his daughter was assaulted to oppose a policy allowing students to use bathrooms of the gender with which they identify for “unlawful assembly.”
The LCPS board first denied that it had knowledge of the May 28 incident, but emails later showed that Superintendent Scott Ziegler informed board members of the incident.
Parents and community members have demanded that Superintendent Scott Ziegler and other school board members resign over the allegations that the district and its leadership covered up multiple incidents of sexual assault.
Juvenile court prosecutors told Smith that the suspect was under house arrest at his mother’s home, but on Oct. 6, a 15-year-old boy was charged with sexual battery and abduction for forcing a girl into a classroom, where he inappropriately touched her, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Smith’s attorney said the suspect is the same boy who attacked Smith’s daughter at a different school months earlier.
Sentencing for the boy’s charges will happen after a Loudoun County judge rules on the second set of charges, which could be as early as November, ABC 7News reported.
“We are relieved that justice was served today for the Smith’s daughter,” the victim’s family attorney Bill Stanley said in a statement, ABC 7 News reported. “This horrible incident has deeply affected the Smith family, and they are grateful for today’s outcome. No one should have to endure what this family has endured, and now their focus is completely upon their daughter’s health and safety as she progresses forward with her life.”
“The Smith family stands stronger than ever in moving forward to ensure that those responsible in the Loudoun County School system are held accountable, so that this may never happen again to anyone else’s child,” the statement added.
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