Loudoun County Public Schools announced an independent investigation into recent allegations of sexual assault at schools in the Northern Virginia county.
“We believe we have followed all mandatory reporting protocols and aided law enforcement to the fullest extent allowed in all investigations regarding these matters,” LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler said in a statement Friday.
“We acknowledge that these matters need to be fully reviewed,” he added. “Consequently, and with full support of the School Board, Loudoun County Public Schools hired Blankingship & Keith, P.C. on October 28, 2021 to conduct an independent review of these incidents.”
LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF INVESTIGATING ALLEGED INCIDENTS OF INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING AT MIDDLE SCHOOL
Ziegler’s statement comes after he came under fire from parents in the county who accused him of having covered up incidents of alleged rape at schools in the county.
The situation escalated when an email indicated he was aware of one of the alleged sexual assaults, contradicting what he later said publicly about “assaults occurring in our restrooms.” Ziegler later apologized and claimed he misinterpreted a question during a June school board meeting, believing it was solely about transgender students.
A 15-year-old male accused of sexually assaulting a ninth-grade girl in a Loudoun County public school bathroom in May was recently found guilty on all charges. A juvenile court judge found the evidence enough to convict but is holding on sentencing until the convicted teenager is tried for another alleged assault at a different high school.
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Separately, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Oct. 28 informing the public that they were investigating two alleged incidents of inappropriate touching occurring at a middle school.
Fresh off of winning the contest to be Virginia’s new attorney general, Jason Miyares promised to look into the allegations of sexual assault in LCPS.
“If there’s anything that I want to bring back to the forefront in this process, [it’s] the victims,” Miyares said. “I can tell you as a former prosecutor, those are the individuals you remember. … the victims.”
