Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has pardoned Loudoun County father Scott Smith who was arrested two years ago and was convicted of disorderly conduct at a local school board meeting after his daughter was sexually assaulted by a teenage boy wearing a skirt.
Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Fox News Sunday that he had pardoned Scott Smith of his disorderly conduct conviction stemming from the June 2021 incident.
“We righted a wrong,” Youngkin said. “He should have never been prosecuted here. This was a dad standing up for his daughter. And just to remind everyone, his daughter had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a school and no one was doing anything about it.”
“And in fact, it took the election of a new governor, me, and my directive to our Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate this to uncover the fact that the superintendent had in fact covered it up. And he was immediately terminated when the final report from the grand jury was issued,” the governor noted.
“Mr. Smith did what any father would do. What any parent would do was stand up for their child. And even worse, what then happened, the perpetrator was moved to another school and sexually assaulted another young woman. This was a gross miscarriage of justice, and I was so pleased to speak with him on Friday and be able to issue a full pardon for him,” Youngkin continued.
I’m pleased to grant Scott Smith a pardon. He is a dedicated Loudoun County father who was wrongfully prosecuted and convicted for standing up for his daughter at a 2021 Loudoun County School Board meeting after she was sexually assaulted at school. https://t.co/6dWf88U2b1 pic.twitter.com/WCEvciUfzT
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) September 10, 2023
“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter,” Youngkin said in a press release. “Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia.”
“In Virginia, parents matter and my resolve to empower parents is unwavering. A parent’s fundamental right to be involved in their child’s education, upbringing, and care should never be undermined by bureaucracy, school divisions or the state. I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all,” the governor added.
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Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj responded on Sunday by issuing accusations, claiming that Youngkin was interfering in the case for “political gain” before the start of early voting in legislative elections.
“The justice system does not work when a Governor becomes the judge and jury,” Biberaj said on Twitter.
A trial was scheduled this fall for Smith’s appeal of the disorderly conduction conviction, according to ABC News. Meanwhile, a circuit court judge has already thrown out a charge of obstructing justice.
“What happened to me can never happen to another American again and it was kind of a bittersweet moment for me to accept this pardon,” Smith told WJLA-TV in an exclusive interview.
“I think it’s pretty clear and convincing to the public that what happened to me that day should have never happened,” he added.
WJLA Reporter Scott Taylor posted photos of Smith’s pardon to social media.
Here is @GovernorVA official pardon of Scott Smith, father of sex assault victim at Loudoun County high school, for Smith’s only remaining criminal conviction of Disorderly Conduct in connection to school board meeting in 2021. @7NewsDC #loudoun #schools #pardon pic.twitter.com/kGjDLVSfyl
— Scott Taylor 7 News I-Team (@ScottTaylorTV) September 10, 2023
In a statement released Sunday, Smith vowed to pursue legal action against Loudoun County Public Schools and continue fighting “for parents and their children.”
As CBN’s Faithwire reported, Smith told The Daily Wire his daughter had been sexually assaulted in late May of 2021 while she was in the bathroom at Stone Bridge High School. The attack was allegedly committed by a teenage boy who entered the girls’ bathroom wearing a skirt.
Smith grew visibly angry at a Loudoun Country Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting on June 22, 2021, when no one acknowledged his daughter’s alleged sexual assault. He also voiced his concerns over students using restrooms that correspond with their chosen gender identity. He said the controversial policies being pushed by LCPS factored into the attack against his daughter.
He was then arrested for disorderly conduct.
“If someone would have sat and listened for 30 seconds to what Scott had to say, they would have been mortified and heartbroken,” Smith’s attorney, Elizabeth Lancaster, told The Daily Wire.
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