Report publicly released on Loudoun County Public Schools' handling of sexual assault investigation
The report looks into the handling of two 2021 sexual assaults that happened at two different schools by the same student.
A report on a sexual assault investigation in Loudoun County Public Schools was released by a judge on Thursday in a redacted form.
The report looks into the handling of two 2021 sexual assaults that happened at two different schools by the same student. The unidentified then-14-year-old student was transferred to another school within the same district while he was being investigated for a reported attack at the first school.
The report does contain graphic details about sexual assault and should be read with caution. WUSA9 has spoken with the family and made the report available with those details per the family's wishes. Click here to read.
The Assaults
The first incident happened on May 28, 2021, when a teenage boy sexually assaulted a teenage girl in a Stone Bridge High School girl's bathroom.
The report details that several people walked into the bathroom while this was happening, including a Stone Bridge High School Teaching Assistant. She didn't initially report it, however, days later when authorities reviewed surveillance footage they saw that she had gone into the bathroom. It was only then according to the report, that she told them she had gone in and saw two sets of feet in the same stall, but didn't hear any noise and immediately left without saying anything. That TA is no longer employed.
The document indicates that Loudoun County Public Schools failed to follow Title IX procedures for the first sexual assault. The report states that the school system was under the assumption that the sheriff's office had to conclude its investigation before LCPS could start its own probe into the matter.
"This view seems to be grounded in experiences certain administrators have had with officers from the LCSO, some of whom allegedly have threatened LCPS administrators with criminal charges for interfering with LCSO investigations," the report reads.
The report addressed some of the conversations regarding the suspect's gender identity. According to the report, in February the suspect told a classmate that he had told his mother that he was pansexual.
In March, a teacher shared that the student would often where his hair tied back in a bun, would sometimes dress in skirts, and sometimes wear fishnet gloves. This apparently "reflected his attention-seeking behavior".
His mother said he was not transgender. His teachers said he "preferred and requested male pronouns".
According to the report, the council found no evidence that the suspect identified as a female, or that he wore a skirt or kilt to gain access to the girls' bathrooms.
The abuser was transferred to Broad Run High School the day before the new academic school year began after being charged with the first sexual assault. The report indicates that the mother was told the student would be 'involuntarily transferred' because he had, "entered a female bathroom."
"It does not appear that LCPS considered whether it should commence a Title IX investigation for almost three months when, on August 17, 2021, the Perpetrator's mother called LCPS to ask whether the Perpetrator would be enrolled for the upcoming school year, which, at that point, was scheduled to start in a little over a week," the report says.
The report also adds that the abuser was never assessed to determine if he was a threat before he was transferred to the second school.
Just eight days into the new school year, the teenager started harassing the second victim and in Oct. 2021 he attacked a second girl inside a classroom.
Authorities eventually arrested the same student on charges of sexual battery and abduction of another classmate at the second school. That student was later sentenced to complete a sex offender in-patient program and was placed on supervised probation until his 18th birthday, according to the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Report is Released Publicly
Attorney General of Virginia Jason Miyares released a statement after the report was released Thursday:
"The root of my investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools was to uncover the truth and provide answers to millions of concerned Virginians. This 'independent report' was paid for by taxpayers. Virginians wanted it released. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors wanted it released. Only the investigated entity - the Loudoun County School Board - did not. I'm pleased today that the court granted my motion to unseal the report. While this should have been made public in the very beginning, it is nevertheless a victory for transparency, accountability, and parents everywhere."
The father of the first victims spoke to reporters Thursday after the report was released.
"We're really happy that [the report is] finally out to the public and the public can see clearly where the mistakes have fallen," said Scott Smith, a Loudoun County father whose daughter was sexually assaulted. "From what I've seen, it clearly shows how both the Loudoun County school and the sheriff's department screwed up very badly and dropped the ball and did not communicate with one another ... everybody is stuck in their silos and they're not communicating with one another which led to these horrific situations that have unfolded over the last 2.5 years."
Smith was recently pardoned by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin after he was charged with disorderly conduct stemming from a school board meeting in 2021.
"Their legal duty is to keep our children safe, and they didn't do that," Smith said, "and quite frankly, our schools are no safer than they were 2.5 years ago. What needs to come out of this is some change, and we so far haven't seen any change -- none."
The Loudoun County School Board said in a statement to WUSA9 that while it maintains that the report contains sensitive information, the board chose not to contest its release, adding that changes have been implemented since 2021.
"Loudoun County Public Schools has taken numerous, significant actions since 2021 in the areas of personnel changes, organizational changes, policy changes, process improvements, legislative proposals, and training to prevent incidents like the tragedies that occurred two years ago from happening again, to improve supports for our students, and to ensure that LCPS responds swiftly and appropriately to student and staff safety concerns and misconduct. Some of the most notable actions have been replacing the former Division Superintendent, replacing the former LCPS Title IX Coordinator, establishing a full-time Title IX Office with multiple personnel to process allegations and complaints, reviewing and updating 10 related School Board policies, updating our Memorandum of Understanding with our County law enforcement partners to ensure a more collaborative working relationship with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and Leesburg Police Department, and working together with the Juvenile Court Service Unit to improve the student arrest-notification process."
“The Board is dedicated to continuing to work with families and the larger LCPS community to address concerns, continuously improve, and rebuild trust,” stated School Board Chair Ian Serotkin.
In February, the Loudoun County School Board voted 6-3 to not release the report to the public, citing a number of reasons such as "attorney-client privileged communications." The school district also said the report contained information on students that is protected by FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that protects information on students.
Additionally, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office released a statement Thursday evening, saying the department is pleased that the report has been made available for the public:
"An investigation was commissioned by the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) on October 28, 2021, and this Report was issued by the law firm of Blankenship & Keith, P.C., on December 31, 2021, regarding alleged sexual assaults at Stone Bridge High School and Broad Run High School that year.
While investigating these allegations, LCSO detectives at all times acted to protect the identity of the victims and the integrity of ongoing criminal investigations to ensure justice for the victims. LCSO’s jurisdiction was and remains different from that of the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), and each has a role to play. The LCSO has sole responsibility for conducting criminal investigations.
A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the LCSO and LCPS was approved on June 13, 2023. It reflects progress made in collaboration between LCSO and LCPS, to include permitting concurrent criminal and Title IX investigations to the extent permissible under our respective policies and regulations."
Timeline of Events
The following is a timeline as described in the released report.
June 1, 2021 - Both the victim and her abuser, return to school because Stone Bridge High School administrators believed there was not sufficient evidence to discipline the abuser according to the report. The victim left at the start of the day.
June 1 - June 2 - The suspect is interviewed by Loudoun County Sheriff's Office detectives, but wasn't immediately charged. According to the report, the detective felt the investigation was not complete.
July 2, 2021 - LCSO detectives swore out petitions of arrest on two counts of forcible sodomy for the teen as well as a request for a juvenile detention order. LCSO said they asked the Juvenile Court Service Unit if they should notify LCPS, and JCSU said they would do it.
July 27, 2021 - The teen suspect was released.
August 17, 2021 - The suspect's mother called the LCPS Director of School Administration to find out where her son would be attending school. She told the administrator that a judge issued a court order restricting her son from attending Stone Bridge High School for the upcoming school year.
August 23, 2021 - The suspect's mother again contacted LCPS. LCPS reached out to LCSO, who deferred them to the special victims unit because it was an "active criminal investigation"
August 23-August 24 - The Director of School Administration, the Title IX Coordinator and the Title IX investigator began a back-and-forth conversation, debating whether or not this amounted to the need for a Title IX investigation. They talked about how the suspect's mother had told them her son couldn't return to Stone Bridge High School because of a judge, but that they hadn't received any documentation.
August 25, 2021 - LCPS decided to do an involuntary transfer of the suspect to Broad Run High School because he had "entered a female bathroom in the lower 500 hallway. As a result, an incident w/ another student ensued requiring a report to the LCSO."
August 26, 2021 - The suspect's probation officer sent the school administration a copy of the court order.
September 8, 2021 - The teen began bothering a female student who sat next to him. He apparently asked her if she ever posted nude photos of people online. According to the report, he asked another student who was talking about his grandmother, if his grandmother's nudes were ever posted online. The teen was disciplined by LCPS.
October 1, 2021 - The teen uses a LCPS issued Chromebook to message a 10th-grade female student at Broad Run High School
October 4, 2021- The principal of Broad Run High School receives a memo from the Director of Administration, with an attached printout advising him a student at the school has legal charges pending.
October 5, 2021- The teen texts victim number two, asking her to meet him in a classroom
October 6, 2021- The suspect and the female victim were walking down a hallway when she said he pulled her into an empty classroom and began inappropriately touching her. LCSO took him into custody on the same day and charged him with sexual battery and abduction.
October 25, 2021 - a trial was held regarding the Stone Bridge High School incident and he was found guilty
November 15, 2021 - a trial was scheduled for the Broad Run High School incident but he pleaded no contest to the charges