Outraged parents say Loudoun County school board is 'complicit' in alleged school sexual assaults, demand resignations

Outraged parents demanded the immediate resignation of Loudoun County Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler at a school board meeting Tuesday that was dominated by public comments on allegations that the school district covered up two alleged sexual assaults.

More than 60 parents, students, and residents of the Virginia county spoke at the school board meeting, blasting members of the school board after the Daily Wire reported on alleged efforts by the school board to conceal the sexual assault of a ninth-grade girl by a gender-fluid boy in a school bathroom amid debate over a controversial transgender accommodation policy.

"This is not China, this is the United States of America, and we will not be silenced," said one furious mother, according to Fox News. "Remove the superintendent immediately and then resign for your negligence and duplicity. End this nightmare!"

Loudoun County resident Scott Smith says that his daughter, a student at Stone Bridge High School, was raped by a boy allegedly wearing a skirt in a school bathroom. Smith's attorney, Elizabeth Lancaster, told the Daily Wire that a boy at Stone Bridge High School was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy, one count of anal sodomy, and one count of forcible fellatio related to an incident on May 28, when Smith says his daughter was attacked.

The sheriff's office confirmed to Fox News that a sexual assault case from May 28, 2021, was conducted following a "thorough 2-month-long investigation that was conducted to determine the facts of the case prior to arrest." Police said the case is still pending court proceedings.

On Oct. 6, at another Loudoun County school, a 15-year-old boy was charged with sexual battery and abduction after police said he forced a girl into an empty classroom, where he held her against her will and touched her inappropriately. The Daily Wire reported that the suspect is the same student who allegedly assaulted Smith's daughter, though police have not confirmed that.

"These incidents were reported immediately to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and LCPS cooperated fully with the investigations," said a spokesperson for Ziegler. "Any information related to student information is confidential under state and federal laws regarding student privacy."

Over the summer, Loudoun County Public Schools debated a policy that would allow students of any gender into all school bathrooms. The policy faced opposition from parents who were concerned that a male student claiming to identify as female might abuse girl students in school bathrooms. Though parents raised these concerns, school officials repeatedly denied that the transgender policy posed any danger to girl students.

"The predator transgender student or person simply does not exist," Ziegler said at a June 22 school board meeting. "We don't have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms."

The school board voted to adopt the controversial transgender policy on Aug. 11. Policy 8040 requires teachers to use the preferred pronouns of students and mandates that school bathrooms be renovated to increase privacy, since any student can use whichever bathroom they want now.

Following the Daily Wire's bombshell report, livid parents at Tuesday's school board meeting castigated school officials for adopting the policy without disclosing either alleged sexual assault.

"The 8040 policy was rushed through to a vote without consideration for the safety of all students, simply to satisfy a liberal agenda – a policy that you knew full well would allow our children to be abused inside our schools," said one mother. "At least two young women are recent victims of sexual assaults in our high schools, one of them in a restroom.

"Your moral compasses are busted! You, Dr. Ziegler, and our school board – every one of you – are complicit in these crimes against our children because you did nothing about it, nothing."

"What is worse than a child being raped at school? The cover-up by those who are trusted with the safety and well-being of children," another mother said. "Today, Scott Ziegler must resign for the unconscionable act of allowing an alleged rapist back into school to rape again, and for that cover-up."

"You guys failed. Sexual assaults happening in public schools is unacceptable and should never happen," said Linda Killen.

"How do you expect parents across this county to drop off their kids and entrust you all to keep them safe when you've shown on more than one occasion you are not up for the job?" added Monica Sadeghi.

"When the Catholic Church passed predator priest from parish to parish, the walls came eventually crashing down on them. And they were finally held accountable for the abuse. When is Doctor Ziegler and this board going to be held accountable?" asked Theresa Lieberman.

A total of 36 parents expressed their concerns, each restricted to one minute of speaking time alone in the room with the school board before being ushered out for the next person to comment.

None of the school board members nor the school superintendent have publicly responded to calls for their resignations.