Former Loudoun superintendent, schools spokesman indicted by Va. grand jury - The Washington Post

Former superintendent Scott Ziegler is facing misdemeanor counts of mendacious publication, utilizing his presumption to retaliate oregon endanger to retaliate against an worker and falsely firing the aforesaid employee, according to indictments unsealed successful Loudoun County. Schools spokesperson Wayde Byard is facing a number of felony perjury.

Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, declined to connection details astir the alleged behaviour that led to the charges, since the lawsuit is pending. Miyares convened the peculiar expansive jury.

Both Ziegler and Byard are scheduled to marque archetypal appearances successful a Loudoun tribunal Tuesday afternoon.

In an emailed connection Monday, Ziegler rebuked the expansive jury’s investigation.

“I americium disappointed that an Attorney General-controlled, secret, and one-sided process—which ne'er erstwhile sought my testimony—has made specified mendacious and irresponsible accusations. It appears wide to maine that this process was and is aimed astatine advancing a definite governmental agenda,” Ziegler said.

Byard did not instantly respond to a petition for remark Monday. Several further spokespeople for the Loudoun territory besides did not respond to requests for comment.

The indictments travel a week aft the aforesaid expansive assemblage issued a scathing study criticizing Loudoun County schools and different officials for their handling of a brace of intersexual assaults committed by a antheral pupil successful May and October 2021 astatine 2 precocious schools. The 2nd battle occurred aft the pupil was transferred to a caller precocious school.

Loudoun schools fired Ziegler aft the study was made public, and the schoolhouse committee is acceptable to conscionable Tuesday to sermon further effect to the report.

The expansive jury’s actions against the Loudoun schoolhouse territory are drafting praise from parents and activists crossed the governmental spectrum — and people a triumph for Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Youngkin won the governor’s bureau mostly by campaigning connected education, advocating for much parental power of schoolhouse lessons and the eradication of sexually explicit content. He often targeted Loudoun, lambasting the district’s handling of the 2 intersexual assaults and its policies allowing transgender students to entree schoolhouse activities and facilities matching their sex identities.

Opponents of akin bath policies successful Virginia and nationwide latched onto the Loudoun assaults, arguing the district’s bath argumentation enabled the May 2021 assault, which took spot successful a women’s bathroom, though the argumentation did not spell into effect until months later. There is besides nary grounds the antheral assailant is transgender. The expansive assemblage recovered that the pupil was wearing women’s covering astatine the clip of the May assault, and that the brushwood began arsenic a consensual meet-up arranged up of clip connected a messaging platform.

One of Youngkin’s archetypal actions successful bureau was to contented an enforcement bid commissioning the probe of Loudoun schools that led to the expansive assemblage study and indictments. The politician did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the indictments Monday.

It is hard to accidental precisely which events and actions each of the indictments, immoderate of which are precise abbreviated and vaguely worded, are referencing.

At slightest 1 of the indictments issued Monday looks to beryllium straight related to the schoolhouse district’s handling of the intersexual assaults: the indictment against ex-superintendent Ziegler for “false publication.” That indictment says that Ziegler, “on oregon astir June 22, 2021, did unlawfully, knowingly, and willfully [make a] mendacious and untrue statement, knowing the aforesaid to beryllium mendacious oregon existent ... with intent that the aforesaid shall beryllium published, broadcast, oregon different disseminated" successful usurpation of Virginia law.

This indictment apt refers to events that took spot astatine a June 22, 2021 schoolhouse committee gathering astatine which Ziegler was asked by a committee subordinate whether Loudoun had immoderate records of intersexual assaults taking spot successful bathrooms. At the time, Ziegler was well-aware that the archetypal of the 2 assaults, successful May 2021, had occurred successful a bath — but helium answered no.

The expansive assemblage called Ziegler’s connection a prevarication successful its report. Ziegler has since said that helium thought the committee subordinate was asking specifically whether Loudoun had immoderate records of transgender oregon gender-fluid students assaulting different students successful bathrooms.

The different 2 indictments against Ziegler, however, notation to incidents abstracted from the 2 intersexual assaults. Those indictments instrumentality the ex-superintendent to task for unlawfully firing — and utilizing “his nationalist presumption to retaliate” against — a erstwhile peculiar acquisition teacher successful the district, Erin Brooks.

Brooks sued the schoolhouse territory successful June, alleging officials retaliated against her for reporting intersexual battle by a student, according to news reports. She charged successful her suit that, starting successful February 2022, a peculiar acquisition pupil began “grabbing her breasts, buttocks, and pubic country dozens of times each day” — but that schoolhouse officials “did thing to halt the assaults from occurring.”

Brooks yet filed 2 Title IX complaints astir the student’s behavior. Not agelong afterward the schoolhouse territory opted not to renew her contract. Brooks alleges successful her suit, which is ongoing, that the schoolhouse district’s nonaccomplishment to reemploy her amounted to retaliation for reporting the assault.

Loudoun schoolhouse officials person alleged that Brooks “improperly distributed schoolhouse records” successful pursing her Title IX complaints, a complaint Brooks denied.

In effect to Monday’s indictments, Brooks’s lawyer John Whitbeck wrote successful a connection that his lawsuit is “grateful to Attorney General Jason Miyares and his unit for their enactment successful these matters."

Brooks “looks guardant to continuing to prosecute her civilian claims against the Loudoun School Board successful airy of these developments,” Whitbeck added. Whitbeck said Brooks is presently waiting for the Office of Civil Rights of the Virginia Attorney General’s bureau to implicit its probe into the civilian rights ailment she filed, and that helium expects tribunal dates volition beryllium acceptable aft that probe finishes.

The crushed for the indictment against schoolhouse spokesperson Byard is unclear. The indictment says that Byard, “on oregon astir August 2, 2022, aft having been lawfully administered an oath, did feloniously and willfully curse falsely connected specified juncture touching immoderate worldly substance oregon thing” successful usurpation of Virginia law.

It is imaginable this indictment refers to a infinitesimal successful Byard’s grounds earlier the expansive assemblage during its probe of the schoolhouse district’s handling of the 2 intersexual assaults.

Parents celebrated the expansive jury’s handing down of charges Monday.

Loudoun4All, a progressive parents’ radical that seeks to beforehand radical justness and equity successful the schoolhouse system, wrote successful a connection that, though “it is hard to remark connected the charges against Dr. Ziegler and Wayde Byard without further details, [we are] grateful that existent problems successful LCPS are being unearthed truthful they tin beryllium addressed.”

Ian Prior, a Loudoun father, erstwhile Trump medication authoritative and co-founder of parents’ rights acquisition radical Fight For Schools, wrote successful a substance that helium is “beyond pleased” with the indictments.

“We besides indispensable admit the parents of Loudoun County who person stood up for years highlighting the arrogance, incompetence, and gross neglect of [school] leaders,” helium wrote.