College students and workers from a number of faculties throughout the county participated in a “stroll out” in protest of how the county dealt with the reporting of the assault.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Editor’s Observe: WUSA9 has chosen to not identify the household of the sufferer referenced on this article to guard the privateness of a sexual assault sufferer.
A Loudoun County decide has dominated towards a 15-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting a feminine classmate in a college rest room again in Might, in line with the county prosecutor.
In accordance with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace, detectives have been made conscious by college officers of an assault at Stone Bridge Excessive College on Might 28. On July 8, a youngster, who was 14 on the time, was arrested and charged with forcible sodomy.
“The decide decided the proof introduced was adequate for a discovering of guilt on each counts,” mentioned Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Legal professional Buta Biberaj.
The ruling is the juvenile courtroom equal of a responsible cost.
Biberaj mentioned the teenager stays in detention, however his sentencing was continued pending the trial of a second alleged sexual assault — which occurred in October at a unique Loudoun County college — during which he is been charged.
On Oct. 6, a feminine scholar at Broad Run Excessive College advised a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace College Useful resource Officer she had been pressured right into a classroom, held towards her will and inappropriately touched, in line with LCSO detectives. A 15-year-old was arrested and charged with sexual battery and abduction on Oct. 7.
“On the conclusion of each issues, the courtroom will decide what’s the acceptable sentence for the juvenile,” Biberaj mentioned.
The regulation group representing the sufferer’s household posted a press release to Fb following the ruling, saying they have been relieved and grateful for that consequence in courtroom.
“Nobody ought to should endure what this household has endured, and now their focus is totally upon their daughter’s well being and security as she progresses ahead together with her life,” the assertion mentioned. “The [victim] is a survivor, and a fighter, and we’re assured that she’s going to develop even stronger with every passing day.”
The day after the decision was handed down, college students and workers from a number of faculties in Loudoun County participated in a “stroll out” in protest of how the county dealt with the reporting of the assault. In a submit circulating on social media, organizers mentioned the walkout was to “present solidarity to victims of sexual violence and demand security in our faculties.”
WUSA9 reporter Nicole D’Antonio was at Stone Bridge Excessive College through the stroll out, the place she mentioned she witnessed a small group of a number of dozen college students gathering outdoors the varsity round 10 a.m. A number of have been sporting white and lots of held indicators to voice their assist for assault victims. SKY9 captured footage from further stroll outs at LCPS faculties, together with Loudoun County Excessive Colleges, Briar Woods Excessive College and Lightridge Excessive College.
An LCPS spokesperson advised D’Antonio that the stroll out was deliberate by dad and mom within the district, not the scholars.
Within the months because the assaults grew to become public data, a number of dad and mom took difficulty with the timeline between when allegations have been made to high school officers, and when an arrest was made within the two completely different assaults, in addition to why the alleged suspect was allowed to switch to a different college within the county.
“I need to acknowledge that our processes and procedures weren’t enough to answer these latest occasions,” LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler mentioned at a press convention on Oct. 15. “It has grow to be clear that our administrative procedures haven’t stored tempo with the expansion we have now seen in our county … All through these occasions, the Loudoun County Public Colleges has complied with our obligations beneath Title 9. Nonetheless, we have now discovered this course of outlined beneath Title 9 by the US Division of Schooling to be inadequate in addressing points on the Okay-12. degree. We consider this course of might be strengthened with some reforms.”
Ziegler additionally really helpful that the Loudoun County College Board add the difficulty to its legislative agenda, and is asking that the LCSO notify the superintendent and principal of a college when college students are charged with critical offenses sooner or later.
“Whether or not or not adjustments happen, sooner or later, our division’s process will emphasize the security and safety of victims,” Ziegler mentioned.
Each the LCSO and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors declare there was misinformation circulated relating to the investigation course of, in addition to when and why data was shared with the general public. LCPS maintains that it adopted all authorized reporting necessities relating to the allegations.
“The October 6, 2021 incident at Broad Run Excessive College didn’t contain complicated circumstances, the arrest was quick, and the arrest was reported to the neighborhood as data launched was unlikely to reveal the identification of the sufferer,” LCSO wrote in a press release. “Nonetheless, the Might 28, 2021 investigation was completely different in that the suspect and sufferer have been acquainted with one another, the investigation was complicated, and a public announcement had the potential to determine a juvenile sufferer.”
