Following a eight-month investigation, the report of a special grand jury empaneled to investigate Loudoun County Public Schools’ handling of two sexual assaults committed by the same student has been unsealed.
The panel was empaneled in April at the request of Attorney General Jason Miyares as his office investigates the school division’s handling of a sexual assault scandal in which a student charged with sexually assaulting a girl at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021 was transferred to Broad Run High School, where he assaulted another girl in October 2021. The investigation was requested by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in an executive order signed on his first day in office.
The jury stated it heard testimony from more than 40 witnesses and reviewed over 100 pieces of evidence that lead to the conclusion. In the 24-page report, the jury concluded division administrators were “looking out for their own interests, instead of the best interests of LCPS” in their response to public outrage over the incidents.
The jury noted there were several instances where senior division administrators, including the superintendent, could have been transparent and could have avoided the sexual assault at Broad Run High School. The jury stated in the documents they believed the Oct. 6 abduction and sexual assault “could have and should have been prevented,” saying administrators were ultimately to blame for the second assault. “While we strongly believe LCPS bears the brunt of the blame for the October 6 incident and the transfer of the student from [Stone Bridge High School] to [Broad Run High School], a breakdown of communication between and amongst multiple parties—including the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Court Services Unit, and the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office—led to the tragic events that occurred,” according to the report.
The jury further stated it found no coordinated cover-up between administrators and the Loudoun County School Board and found that School Board members were “kept in the dark” about the incidents. With the exception of a May 28, 2021, email from the superintendent, the School Board had no information about the sexual assaults until after the Oct. 6 assault, and when they did learn the two cases were related, it wasn’t from the superintendent himself, but from other public reporting, according to the report.
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The grand jury made eight recommendations based on its investigation:
--Increase transparency and foster better communication and recommended the school division include as much information as reasonably possible when informing the public about significant events happening on school property, a bus or a school sponsored event.
--Re-examine its transfer process and create a formalized protocol emphasizing better communication.
--Greater involvement from the division’s director of safety and security in situations that threaten the safety and security of students, faculty and staff.
--The School Board should tighten polices about the apps available to students on their school-issued devices.
--The School Board should limit the degree to which legitimate matters and information of public concern are shielded from the public under the cloak of attorney-client privilege.
--Improved communication, cooperation and coordination across all agencies when addressing criminal conduct by students, faculty and staff.
--Strengthen support and advocacy for faculty and staff who are faced with challenging scenarios that could be dangerous.
--The superintendent’s recommendation for the non-renewal of a teacher’s contract should be the subject of a separate agenda item and not placed on the School Board’s consent agenda.
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