A Virginia judge has rejected a petition by the Loudoun County School Board that sought to shut down a special grand jury investigation by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares into the board’s handling of sexual assaults.
On Monday, a Loudoun Circuit Court judge denied the school board’s request for an injunction that would have halted the attorney general’s investigation into the school board’s handling of a sexual assault committed by a male student last year, 7News reported. The district sued to block the investigation in May after initially vowing to cooperate.
LOUDOUN SCHOOL BOARD UNDER GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT HANDLING
Miyares, who took office in January, had pledged on the campaign trail to investigate the district, which had been accused of covering up a May 2021 assault in the girls’ bathroom of Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia.
The board had allowed the student to attend a different district high school the following school year, where he committed a second assault. He was sentenced to a residential mental health program in January.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, had directed Miyares to investigate the school board’s handling of the assaults in an executive order signed on his first day in office. Loudoun County Public Schools, seeking to halt the investigation, claimed that the governor’s order exceeded his authority and that the attorney general was legally barred from impaneling a special grand jury.
In a statement following the ruling, Miyares said his office was “pleased” with the court’s ruling, calling it a “win for parents and students across the Commonwealth.”
“I will never stop fighting for justice and to protect the families of Loudoun County, and the Commonwealth,” Miyares said.
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The Washington Examiner has reached out to Loudoun County Public Schools for comment.
