A northern Virginia school board has fired its superintendent after a special grand jury accused him of lying about the sexual assault of a student

[Auburn85 432]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/superintendent-fired-after-investigation-assaults-94688853

 

 

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ByMATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press

December 7, 2022, 9:44 AM

 

A northern Virginia school board has fired its superintendent after a special grand jury accused him of lying to the board about the sexual assault of a student.

The Loudoun County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to fire Scott Ziegler after holding a closed session.

Ziegler had been under fire after a student sexually assaulted classmates at two different high schools last year — incidents that became a touchstone for an array of incendiary cultural and political issues ahead of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election victory last year.

Attorney General Jason Miyares convened the grand jury last year after a request from Youngkin to investigate the school system.

The grand jury issued a harsh report Monday that singled out Ziegler for criticism.

After the first assault occurred at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021, the boy was allowed to attend nearby Broad Run High School while he awaited trial in juvenile court. The second assault occurred in a Broad Run classroom in October 2021.

At a June 2021 school board meeting, Ziegler answered questions from board members as they considered policies related to transgender students, including whether those students can use restrooms of their preferred gender.

In response to a question, Ziegler denied that the school system ever had an incident involving students being assaulted in school restrooms. But the grand jury report said Ziegler was aware of the assault that had occurred in May 2021 and had even sent school board members an email about it.

The boy who was convicted of the assaults was wearing a skirt when the first assault occurred, playing into a national debate over how schools should treat transgender students and whether they should be allowed to use restrooms different to their biological sex. The student was assigned male at birth and it is not clear whether he identifies as gender-nonconforming.

The assaults and the school system's response became major issues in Youngkin's and Miyares' winning election bids in November 2021, and both promised to investigate the school system if elected.

The school board sought to quash the investigation, calling it politically motivated, but the Virginia Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the grand jury could move forward with its work.

The special grand jury has issued no indictments, though it remains empaneled.

The report also faulted school administrators for treating the father of the first victim harshly when he came to the school after his daughter was assaulted. And the report concluded that the second assault could have been avoided if administrators had heeded warning signs in the student's behavior, which were reported by teachers.

 

 

[icanthearyou 4,462]

I wonder why they leave out the fact that, the first victim and the perpetrator had been meeting for sex in the restroom prior to the reported assault?

[I_M4_AU 7,801]

54 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

I wonder why they leave out the fact that, the first victim and the perpetrator had been meeting for sex in the restroom prior to the reported assault?

I think it is standard to NOT blame the victim.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

1 hour ago, I_M4_AU said:

I think it is standard to NOT blame the victim.

Not blaming the victim.  It is an important fact.

[jj3jordan 2,051]

Apparently no means no unless you are ICHY.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

1 hour ago, jj3jordan said:

Apparently no means no unless you are ICHY.

That is just dishonest.  Typical of you.

[jj3jordan 2,051]

4 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

That is just dishonest.  Typical of you.

Not dishonest. Read your post.  Truth. Why can’t you just own what you post?

[DKW 86 7,419]

15 hours ago, Auburn85 said:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/superintendent-fired-after-investigation-assaults-94688853

 

 

 

They just gave this bastard a $28K raise and now will pay him for 12 months of work he never did. If you cant see how corrupt the system is, you have your eyes closed.

 

"Firing Ziegler is a good first step, though it should have been done in October of 2021. However, justice will be denied until everyone whose egregious and RECKLESS conduct was detailed in that report is terminated as well. That includes the Deputy Superintendent, Division Counsel, school board members and the other unnamed actors whose actions put our child and everyone else's at risk."

Edited December 8, 2022 by DKW 86

[DKW 86 7,419]

12 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

Not blaming the victim.  It is an important fact.

Whether you realize it or not, you are blaming the victim...

Edited December 8, 2022 by DKW 86

[icanthearyou 4,462]

6 hours ago, DKW 86 said:

Whether you realize it or not, you are blaming the victim...

I respect your opinion.  However, I disagree.  I can separate the crime from the politics.

[Auburn85 432]

 

[Auburn85 432]

https://news.yahoo.com/trial-begins-virginia-school-administrator-230018998.html

 

 

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Trial begins for Virginia school administrator charged with perjury in probe of sex assault case

June 20

 

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A lawyer for a school system official accused of perjuring himself during a high-profile investigation of two school-based sexual assaults told jurors Tuesday that her client is “the fall guy” for a series of administrative failings.

The perjury case against Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wayde Byard is the first prosecution to go to trial from a special grand jury investigation commissioned by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares at the request of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The grand jury examined the school system's handling of two sexual assaults at two different high schools in 2021. The assaults became a major issue in that year's gubernatorial election in part because the boy who committed the assaults was allowed to transfer to another school after the first attack and in part because the boy was wearing a skirt when he committed the first attack in a school bathroom. At the time the county was considering a policy change to allow transgender students to use the restroom of their choice.

Byard is well known in the county as the school system's longtime spokesman, and holds a cult status of sorts among students as the voice that delivers the good news about school closures for snow.

During opening statements Tuesday, defense lawyer Jennifer Leffler said Byard's fame worked against him in the grand jury investigation, as a politically charged probe looked for someone to blame.

“He's the face of Loudoun County Public Schools," she said of Byard. "He's the fall guy. That's why we're here.”

Prosecutor Theo Stamos said the evidence shows Byard lied to the special grand jury when he said he was unaware of the first sexual assault allegation when it occurred at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021. Byard told the grand jury that he only became aware that the allegations involved unwanted sexual contact after the second assault occurred at Broad Run High School in October 2021.

Both sides said there are no emails or documents showing that Byard had been explicitly informed of the alleged assault when it occurred in May. But Stamos said Byard was involved in the school system's overall response, in which the allegations were discussed. And she said the school principal, Tim Flynn, told him in a phone call about the alleged assault the day it happened.

Flynn was the prosecution's first witness Tuesday. He said he remembers telling Byard about everything that occurred, including the alleged assault and the chaotic scene afterward, in which he ordered the girl's dad to be removed from the building after he reacted angrily.

“He needs all the information so he can do his job,” Flynn said of Byard.

On the afternoon of the assault, Byard helped craft a note to Stone Bridge parents that mentioned only the disruption involving the girl's father and not the sexual assault allegation itself.

On cross-examination, though, Flynn contradicted his earlier testimony on several key aspects of what occurred that day. He gave different responses about whether an online meeting he had with the superintendent occurred in the afternoon or in the evening. And he struggled to explain why he initially described the allegation as an “attempted rape” when the girl was saying that she had, in fact, been raped.

Critics of the school system say Byard and other administrators intentionally obfuscated the facts of the assault because the school board was considering a new policy that would allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their preference, and the attack would support the arguments of opponents who say it's dangerous for biological boys to use girls' restrooms.

Others, though, say details of what occurred at Stone Bridge were not at all immediately clear. Police and school administrators were leery of the allegation at first because there was evidence that the boy and girl had met consensually for sex in the girls' bathroom on previous occasions.

Byard, in his testimony to the special grand jury, said he first understood it as a “boy-girl incident that went sideways,” Leffler said.

The school system's former superintendent is scheduled to go on trial later this year on charges brought by the special grand jury.

The boy was convicted of both assaults and sentenced last year in juvenile court to attend a locked, residential treatment program until he turns 18.

 

 

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.whec.com/national-world/virginia-jury-acquits-school-spokesman-of-perjury-in-probe-that-was-a-focus-of-governors-campaign/

 

 

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Virginia jury acquits school spokesman of perjury in probe that was a focus of governor’s campaign

By MATTHEW BARAKAT The Associated Press
Updated: June 22, 2023 - 6:36 PM
Published: June 22, 2023 - 5:36 PM

 

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A jury on Thursday acquitted the longtime spokesman for a northern Virginia school system of perjuring himself during a high-profile investigation of two school-based sexual assaults.

The jury took only about two hours to deliberate before acquitting Loudoun County Public Schools Public Information Office Wayde Byard on the sole perjury count lodged against him by a special grand jury.

The perjury case was the first prosecution to go to trial from the special grand jury’s probe, commissioned by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares at the request of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The grand jury examined the school system’s handling of two sexual assaults at two different high schools in 2021. Youngkin made the assaults a major part of his successful gubernatorial bid that year, and he issued an executive order requesting the investigation on his first day in office.

Youngkin’s critics accused him of exploiting the situation for political gain. The assaults garnered widespread attention not only because the boy who committed the assaults was allowed to transfer to another school after the first attack but also because he was wearing a skirt when he committed the first attack in a school bathroom. At the time the county was considering a policy change to allow transgender students to use the restroom of their choice.

Prosecutors said Byard lied to the special grand jury when he testified he was unaware of the first sexual assault allegation when it occurred at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021. Byard told the grand jury that he only became aware that the allegations involved unwanted sexual contact after the second assault occurred at Broad Run High School in October 2021.

During the three-day trial, prosecutors acknowledged they had no documentary evidence showing that any school official had informed Byard of the first sexual assault investigation. The Stone Bridge principal testified that he told Byard about it in a phone conversation, but on cross-examination the principal struggled to accurately recall some of the details from that day.

In addition, testimony showed that school officials on that day were more focused on the angry response that the victim’s father displayed when he showed up at the school than they were about the alleged assault itself.

Byard’s lawyer, Jennifer Leffler, told jurors that Byard — a well-known figure in the county who holds a cult status of sorts among students because his voice delivers news of snow-related school closures — was made a “fall guy” for the school system in what she said was a politically charged grand jury probe.

Byard, speaking after his acquittal, declined to describe himself as a fall guy but allowed that he was perhaps a “surrogate” for other other administrators.

“I feel like maybe I was a stand-in for other LCPS employees,” said Byard, who has been on unpaid leave since the indictment against him was unsealed in December.

Byard said he always felt he’d be acquitted, and he thanked his wife and lawyer for their support. He reflected on the animosity that has descended on the county as the school system became ground zero at times nationally for debates over hot-button cultural issues like critical race theory and treatment of transgender children.

“I’m not going to put any more quarters in the outrage machine,” he said. “I’m not going to make any incendiary statements. … Because that’s what’s got our community here and our nation here.”

Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Miyares, issued a statement Thursday after the verdict noting that the judge allowed the case to go to a jury despite multiple motions seeking its dismissal.

“While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision, we’re proud of our team for uncovering the truth and providing answers to concerned Virginia parents,” she said.

Byard said he is uncertain if he will return to his job.

Former LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler, the only other individual indicted by the grand jury, goes on trial later this year on misdemeanor charges.

 

 

[DKW 86 7,419]

Sounds like the witness was just plain not good. 

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/loudoun-schools-ex-superintendent-scott-ziegler-found-guilty-of-retaliation/3433779/

 

 

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Loudoun schools ex-superintendent Scott Ziegler found guilty of retaliation

 

September 29

 

By Drew Wilder and NBC Washington Staff

 

A jury found former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler guilty of retaliation against a former special education teacher.

In a split decision on Friday, jurors found Ziegler guilty of retaliation but not guilty of penalizing an employee for jury service. Ziegler faces a maximum of 12 months in jail and will appeal. He’s set to be sentenced on Jan. 4.

The case stems from Attorney General Jason Miyares’ investigation into LCPS, which was one of the first things Gov. Glenn Youngkin did when he took office.

Miyares said in a statement Friday: "Justice has finally been served in Loudoun County. Nearly two years ago, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun County School Board were thrown into the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons. One of the casualties of their neglect and mismanagement led to the retaliatory firing of a dedicated and caring school teacher. Today, my office brought a measure of justice for Erin Brooks.”

The attorney general’s office aimed to prove Ziegler did not renew Erin Brooks’ year-to-year contract because she spoke up about a nonverbal student with autism who inappropriately touched her and her teaching assistant every day for a couple of months in early 2021 at Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School.

Brooks says the student touched her and her teaching assistant up to 40 times a day.

She asked for help from administrators, and internal emails show administrators were working through some solutions when conservative activist Ian Prior went before the school board during a public comment session in March 2022.

“At an elementary school in Loudoun County, you have teachers that are being inappropriately touched multiple times a day for the better part of two months,” Prior said at that meeting.

The school district says Brooks wasn’t following the protocol they needed from her in order for the issue to be addressed. Brooks was called back to the stand for a second time Thursday and testified that she did not know if or when she filled out the proper Title IX complaint form that she had said she filled out.

The attorney general’s office also charged Ziegler with retaliating against her because she testified before the special grand jury investigating LCPS.

Brooks says she never believed she was retaliated against because of her special grand jury testimony, which might have ended any chance prosecutors had on that charge.

The defense says Brooks' contract wasn’t renewed because they believe she violated school policy and possibly federal student privacy laws when she admittedly forwarded internal emails about the situation to a private email account.

An investigation revealed Brooks forwarded at least 26 internal emails to her teaching assistant’s personal email address in the weeks leading up to Prior’s statement. Brooks testified she wanted to preserve and document the district’s response.

“I’ve been relabeled by you as unacceptable, and Mr. Ziegler, you will not renew my contract next school year,” she said at a school board meeting. “Please stop with the intimidation, stop with the defamation, stop trying to cover this up. Face the issues head on. I’m doing my job; please do yours.”

The school district’s head of human resources testified the decision not to renew Brooks’ contract was done legally, per state law.

The principal of Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School testified for the defense, reading a scathing review she gave Brooks recommending she not be renewed, saying she created an unsafe and unproductive workplace for the students, particularly the student at the center of this case.

Ziegler is scheduled to stand trial early next year for allegedly giving false information to a publication.

Brooks also filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against Ziegler.