Sexual Assault Investigation Internal Report Not Released By Loudoun Public Schools

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — An internal report into how Loudoun County Public Schools responded to two sexual assaults was not released by the school board Tuesday night.

School board member John Beatty had made a motion to publicly release the report, which resulted from an independent investigation LCPS requested on the sexual assaults during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. However, the motion failed 3-6, with Beatty, Tiffany Polifko and Denise Corbo voting in favor and Harris Mahedavi, Jeff Morse, Erika Ogedegbe, Atoosa Reaser, Ian Serotkin and Brenda Sheridan opposed.

In 2022, a teen was sentenced to a locked residential program until age 18 in connection with the sexual assaults at two different Loudoun County high schools. After the first assault at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021, officials transferred the boy to Broad Run High School. In October 2021, the boy sexually assaulted a victim at Broad Run High School, according to court records.

In December, the School Board fired former Superintendent Scott Ziegler after a grand jury's report claimed Ziegler, other administrators, the sheriff's office, and the commonwealth's attorney's office could have prevented the second assault if they had been more proactive and communicated more effectively.

Ziegler was indicted by a grand jury on one count of misdemeanor false publication, one count of misdemeanor prohibited conduct, and one count of misdemeanor penalizing an employee for a court appearance. Wayde Byard, who was the LCPS public information officer, was indicted on one count of felony perjury.

According to WTOP, parents have been seeking the release of the internal report.

Serotkin, the Loudoun County School Board chair, explained the reason for members opposing the release of the internal report.

"Being open and transparent is important, but so is the right of our students and staff to be able to communicate with legal counsel without it being made public — that is such an important principle that it’s one of the cornerstones of the American legal system," said Serotkin in a statement. "Releasing the report would cause a subject matter waiver of every communication anyone in LCPS had with legal counsel broadly related to these incidents over the past year and a half. If I could disentangle the release of the report from that, I would. But we cannot."

LCPS said in a statement the report has identifiable information regarding students, and much of that information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Ogedegbe said she was conflicted about releasing the report, but that a heavily redacted or summary report may draw more transparency concerns from the community or prolong the trauma of the victims.

Related:

• LCPS Employees Indicted By Grand Jury
• Daniel Smith Named Interim LCPS Superintendent By School Board
• Loudoun Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler Fired On Tuesday
• Loudoun School Sexual Assaults: Grand Jury Releases Report
• Teen Sentenced For 2 Sexual Assaults At Loudoun County High Schools: Report
• Loudoun Teen Pleads No Contest To 2nd Sexual Assault
• Loudoun Teen Found Guilty Of Assaulting Girl In Bathroom
• Sentence Changed For Teen Convicted In Loudoun Sexual Assaults

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center can provide information about reporting and coping with sexual abuse. Their website also features training materials and tips to prevent sexual abuse. The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network operates a 24/7 hotline for victims of sexual assault. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-4673.