Moneta, Virginia: Both the attorney for and the family of the Stone Bridge High School student who was sexually assaulted in the girls’ restroom by a boy claiming to be “gender fluid” today responded to the indictment of former LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler and LCPS public information officer Wayde Byard on criminal charges related to the aftermath of the incident involving their daughter’s attack.
Scott and Jessica Smith, parents of the student, stated: “From the very beginning, we were determined as parents to not let the Loudoun County public school system sweep what happened to our daughter and another parents’ daughter “under the rug,” as they repeatedly tried to do. And we are as determined now as we were back then not to remain silent as they wanted us to be. Today, we stand stronger than ever as a family in a determined fight to do everything in our power to ensure that no other child and their families suffer in the way that we have. The recently released Report of The Special Grand Jury empaneled to investigate this matter is alarming, and the grand jury’s conclusions have clearly demonstrated that the indifference and inexcusable negligence by Loudoun County Public Schools and its School Board caused immeasurable harm to two young women. It is without question that these students didn’t deserve what happened to them, and it has now been proven that Loudoun County knew that they had a predator in their schools, and yet they did nothing to stop him. Their grievous errors have caused our family irreparable harm.”
“The assault on our daughter and the subsequent assault by the same individual of another young lady were both predictable and preventable. Today’s release of the indictments of Loudoun County Public School officials is an important step in this process, but it is only a starting point by which we seek to right the wrongs committed. Disgraced LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler may now be scarred with the consequences of future misdemeanor convictions, but it does not compare to the permanent scars that his misdeeds have caused families who entrusted their daughters into his care and protection at our public schools.
Today, we continue this fight. And while we feel vindicated, we are still resolute — and we will not be satisfied until both justice is served, and significant changes are made that will protect our children from harm.”
Bill Stanley of The Stanley Law Group, as counsel for the Smith family, stated: “What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their daughter in Loudoun County is absolutely abhorrent and unacceptable. πIt is a nightmare no family should have had to endure. What makes it even more outrageous is the heartbreak of now knowing that it was totally preventable. And while the indictments handed down by the Loudoun County Special Grand Jury now vindicate what the Smith family has been saying all along–that their public schools chose ‘woke’ policy over protecting their students from harm–there is still more work that must be done. Scott and Jessica Smith are relentless in protecting their daughter, and they are committed to standing strong for their family and for other families to hold the Loudoun County public school system accountable for putting its own interests above the interests of the families and communities that it was supposed to serve.”