The skirt-wearing male student at the center of a purported sexual assault that recently took place in a vacant school classroom was previously placed under electronic surveillance for another sexual assault, according to reports.
Loudoun County commonwealth's attorney Buta Biberaj on Wednesday announced that the same 15-year-old has been charged in both crimes.
What are the details?
According to a Wednesday report from Newsweek, the male Loudoun County, Virginia, high school student accused of assaulting a female student in a school classroom was reportedly under court-ordered electronic surveillance for a previous sexual assault charge when the assault incident took place.
He is currently being held in the Loudoun County Juvenile Detention Center, according to a report from WTOP-WTOP reported that the teen was due to appear in court this week regarding the May incident, but the date has been rescheduled due to the filing of the second charge.
What else?
In a Wednesday statement, the Loudoun County School Board said that police are investigating the incident.
"Loudoun County Public Schools is aware of the media and social media reports concerning alleged sexual assaults at two of our high school campuses," a portion of the statement said. "Principals are legally required to report to the local law enforcement agency any act, including sexual assault, that may constitute a felony offense. That process was followed with respect to these allegations."
The statement added, "Furthermore, LCPS is prohibited from disciplining any student without following the Title IX grievance process, which includes investigating complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault. LCPS does impose interim measures to protect the safety of students involved in the original incident, deter retaliation, and preserve the integrity of the investigation and resolution process."
Critics have lambasted the school board, accusing it of covering up the abuse, and parents have said that the school board was complicit in the assault.
Scott Smith, father of the female student assaulted in May, recently announced that prosecutors told him to remain quiet about the case in order to help the case move forward.
Smith complied, but when parents objected to a new trans bathroom policy within the school district, officials denied any incidents of assault.
"The predator transgender student or person simply does not exist," Loudoun County Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler said in June. "We don't have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms."
In its Wednesday statement, the district added that the board was not aware of any details of the accusations.
"School Board members are typically not given details of disciplinary matters," the statement insisted. "The board may be obligated to consider long-term suspensions or expulsions and must ensure that students have not been deprived of due process. Consequently, members of the Loudon County School Board were not aware of the specific details of this incident until it was reported in media outlets earlier this week."
You can read more on the background of the case here.
OCTOBER 13, 2021
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