LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — The Loudoun County student convicted of two sexual assaults appeared in court on Wednesday, now that he is 18.
The student's name has been kept out of public records due to him being underage at the time of his arrest. The man was sentenced to supervised probation until his 18th birthday back in October 2022. When the man appeared back in court on Wednesday, a judge ruled that he had done everything he was instructed to do while on probation, earning him his freedom.
In the original sentencing, the Commonwealth wanted the then-teen to register as a sex offender. But his lawyers filed a motion citing that the prosecution never submitted a written motion requesting it. They also said requiring someone of his age to register as a sex offender is unusual and almost unheard of. The man's attorney went on to argue that requiring someone of his age to register as a sex offender for life is punishment and does not provide any form of treatment.
Prosecutors argued that the juvenile could instead be placed on the tier 1 registration for abduction instead of tier 3 for sexual assault. The change would only have him registered until his 30th birthday. However, the defense said the success rates of juveniles on the sex offender registry are lower and the requirement would get in the way of the boy having a successful life.
Ultimately, the judge agreed with the defense, and the registration requirement was dropped. The judge also added that should anything change before the boy's 18th birthday the judge may change the ruling.
The father of one of the victims appeared at the man's court hearing on Wednesday.
Scott Smith spoke with WUSA9 after the hearing and said:
"Today was well expected, we knew what this was going to be two years ago. Unfortunately, the real crime here is that our past prosecutor botched the paperwork and the judge had to reverse her decision about having him on the adult sexual offender list. We knew about that two years ago, and we were angry, we mourned it, and we were disappointed, but you know here we are. We hope that he learned his lesson and we hope that he got the help that he needs, and we hope that he goes forward and does something positive with his life."
These sexual assaults took place at two separate Loudoun County high schools. When the first assault took place the then teen, was moved out of his high school and into another one. Just a few months later, a second assault took place. Parents were furious with the way the county handled the entire situation. So much so that the superintendent at the time was fired after being accused of hiding the assaults.