A Virginia juvenile court judge ruled Monday a transgender teen was guilty of sexually assaulting a female classmate at Loudoun County high school last May.
The National Review reports Chief Judge Pamela L. Brooks of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court found there was sufficient evidence to determine the teenager guilty of sexual assault in the case that has received national attention.
The victim, a 15-year-old girl, testified in court that she engaged in consensual sexual activity with the defendant two other times in the girl’s bathroom at Stone Bridge High School. But on the occasion in question, she had been violently intimidated to perform sexual acts, the outlet reported.
According to the commonwealth’s attorney, the teenager is accused of two separate incidents that happened months apart at different Loudoun County high schools. According to Fox 5, the teen was wearing an ankle monitor for the prior assault at Stone Bridge when he allegedly forced a girl into an empty classroom and groped her at a new school.
Father Who Confronted School Board About Alleged Assault, Arrested
As CBN’s Faithwire reported, Scott Smith, the girl’s father, told The Daily Wire his daughter had been sexually assaulted in late May 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 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 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.
Smith has reportedly filed a civil lawsuit against the school board.
Superintendent’s Email Shows School Board Knew About Sexual Assault
WTOP-TV reported on Oct. 21 Superintendent Scott Ziegler told the school board about the first incident on May 28, but it was hidden from the public for many months
ONLY ON WTOP: Loudoun County’s superintendent notified the school board the same day a female student was sexually assaulted at Stone Bridge High School, according to an email obtained by WTOP. https://t.co/Re4vkD7H60
— WTOP (@WTOP) October 22, 2021
“The purpose of this email is to provide you with information regarding an incident that occurred at Stone Bridge HS. This afternoon a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom. The LCSO is investigating the matter,” Ziegler wrote.
The same transgender student is then accused of committing a second sexual against a girl on Oct. 6 at a different school.
Although Ziegler said at a June 22 school board meeting there was no record of any sexual assaults in the bathroom, his May 28 email reveals he and the board would have been aware of the incident prior to the summer meeting when parents raised serious concerns about allowing students to use whichever restrooms correlate with their chosen gender identities.
Several parents said the policy would endanger children’s safety. In response, school board member Beth Barts, who has since resigned, asked Ziegler if there were any sexual assaults occurring regularly in school bathrooms.
“The predator transgender student or person simply does not exist,” the superintended said at the time. “We don’t have any record of assault occurring in our restrooms.”
Ziegler later apologized for his “misleading” claim, telling reporters he thought the question was in reference to assaults specifically involving transgender-identities kids.
“First, let me say to the families and students involved, my heart aches for you,” he said. “And I am sorry that we failed to provide the safe, welcoming, and affirming environment that we aspire to provide. We acknowledge and share your pain and we will continue to offer you support to help your families through this trauma.”
Case Becomes Focal Point in Virginia’s Gubernatorial Race
Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin called for an “immediate investigation into the Loudoun County school board for their gross negligence” after the two alleged sexual assault incidents involving a trans student came to light.
“They had a duty of care,” Youngkin said during a campaign event in Burke, VA. “And they failed.”
“They endangered our students and violated the Virginia Constitution. Instead of investigating parents, the Department of Justice should be investigating those who covered up a heinous crime in our schools,” Youngkin said during his speech at the Burke Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.
“They not only covered up a heinous crime, but they enabled an offender being prosecuted of sexual assault to attack again,” he said.
As CBN News reported, the state’s Democratic majority legislature passed HB 257 which ended mandatory school reporting of certain crimes to the police, including sexual battery.
“So, parents are not aware. So, law enforcement is not aware. I think this has a lot to do with how they handled both of these rapes,” said Loudoun County parent Patti Mender.
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