LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA- In what indeed proves to be retribution for school parents and teachers concerned about their First Amendment rights, a jury of six women and one man found former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler guilty of abusing his position to punish a teacher who cooperated with a grand jury investigating the district’s handling of sexual assaults, a blog called Citizen Frank reported.
The trial, which lasted four days plus one day of deliberations, saw Ziegler found guilty of wrongfully terminating a teacher who told Virginia law enforcement investigators about the mishandling of a sexual assault in her classroom.
Ziegler was convicted of using his official position to retaliate against someone for exercising their rights. He was acquitted, meanwhile, on a charge of punishing someone for testifying to a jury. Both charges are misdemeanors.
The Daily Wire reports Ziegler could be sentenced to up to a year in prison, a $2500 fine, or both.
According to Just the News, in October 2021, a 15-year-old gender-confused student was arrested for sexually assaulting two female students at two separate high schools in Loudoun County.
News station WUSA reported the first assault was reported on May 28, 2021, at Stone Bridge High School. A second such assault occurred on Oct. 8 of the same year at Broad Run High School.
Fox News reported a parent, Scott Smith, was arrested during a school board meeting that same year after he accused the district of covering up one of the sexual assaults in which his daughter was the victim.
Smith was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for exercising his First Amendment rights. Video of the arrest went viral and spurred several school boards to implement policies against parents speaking out at meetings.
He was found guilty and sentenced to ten days in jail, execution suspended, and a year of probation, Loudoun Now reported.
A now-former special education teacher, Erin Brooks, was fired by Ziegler after she cooperated with investigators and revealed another incident where school administrators blew off a sexual assault allegation.
“Prosecutors laid out a devastating timeline of retaliation against Brooks, who was trying to get administrators to do something about the fact that a student with intellectual disabilities was grabbing the genitals of her and her teaching assistant Laurie Vandermeulen dozens of times a day while making crude motions with his tongue,” the Daily Wire reported.
However, in her opening argument, Ziegler's defense attorney disputed Brooks’ version of events, claiming that she was actually fired for “invading the privacy of her student assailant.”
Despite those claims, the defense attorney failed to provide evidence that Brooks shared any private information or that she had violated any policies. No witnesses could identify a policy Brooks allegedly violated.
“Justice has finally been served in Loudoun County,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement, according to Fox News. “Nearly two years ago, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun County School Board were thrown into the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.”
“One of the casualties of their neglect and mismanagement led to the retaliatory firing of a dedicated and caring school teacher,” he continued.
“Today, my office brought a measure of justice for Erin Brooks. The Office of the Attorney General will always be a voice for victims, and we’re grateful for the jury’s verdict.”
Ironically, Brooks’ testimony to the grand jury wasn’t related to the two sexual assaults but rather the incidents against her and her teaching assistant.
The two sexual assaults in question, which included the assault of Smith’s daughter, drew national attention. At the meeting where he was arrested, Smith accused the school district of covering up his daughter’s sexual assault by a gender-confused individual dressed like a female, where she was raped in the girl’s bathroom.
The same student was transferred to another high school where he did the exact same thing. Smith alleged the district covered up the sexual assaults to advance its transgender policies.
Ziegler then lied about the two assaults, claiming at the school board meeting that “the predator transgender student simply does not exist” and “we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms.”
However, in an email dated May 28, 2021, the same day as the initial sexual assault, Ziegler alerted school board members that such an assault had indeed been reported. In a special grand jury report, they said the school district was looking out for its own interests instead of students, and the school system “failed at every juncture.”
Ziegler still faces a misdemeanor charge concerning his statements at the school board meeting.
CNN reported that last month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin pardoned Smith.
“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter. Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement.
“In Virginia, parents matter, and my resolve to empower parents is unwavering. A parent’s fundamental right to be involved in their child’s education, upbringing, and care should never be undermined by bureaucracy, school divisions, or the state. I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all,” the governor added.
In an interesting twist, Just the News reported Ziegler showed up at his trial wearing lipstick and nail polish. That could explain his apparent nonchalant handling of the sexual assault allegations perpetrated by gender-confused males made by female Loudoun County students.
The trial, which lasted four days plus one day of deliberations, saw Ziegler found guilty of wrongfully terminating a teacher who told Virginia law enforcement investigators about the mishandling of a sexual assault in her classroom.
Ziegler was convicted of using his official position to retaliate against someone for exercising their rights. He was acquitted, meanwhile, on a charge of punishing someone for testifying to a jury. Both charges are misdemeanors.
The Daily Wire reports Ziegler could be sentenced to up to a year in prison, a $2500 fine, or both.
According to Just the News, in October 2021, a 15-year-old gender-confused student was arrested for sexually assaulting two female students at two separate high schools in Loudoun County.
News station WUSA reported the first assault was reported on May 28, 2021, at Stone Bridge High School. A second such assault occurred on Oct. 8 of the same year at Broad Run High School.
Fox News reported a parent, Scott Smith, was arrested during a school board meeting that same year after he accused the district of covering up one of the sexual assaults in which his daughter was the victim.
Smith was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for exercising his First Amendment rights. Video of the arrest went viral and spurred several school boards to implement policies against parents speaking out at meetings.
He was found guilty and sentenced to ten days in jail, execution suspended, and a year of probation, Loudoun Now reported.
A now-former special education teacher, Erin Brooks, was fired by Ziegler after she cooperated with investigators and revealed another incident where school administrators blew off a sexual assault allegation.
“Prosecutors laid out a devastating timeline of retaliation against Brooks, who was trying to get administrators to do something about the fact that a student with intellectual disabilities was grabbing the genitals of her and her teaching assistant Laurie Vandermeulen dozens of times a day while making crude motions with his tongue,” the Daily Wire reported.
However, in her opening argument, Ziegler's defense attorney disputed Brooks’ version of events, claiming that she was actually fired for “invading the privacy of her student assailant.”
Despite those claims, the defense attorney failed to provide evidence that Brooks shared any private information or that she had violated any policies. No witnesses could identify a policy Brooks allegedly violated.
“Justice has finally been served in Loudoun County,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement, according to Fox News. “Nearly two years ago, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun County School Board were thrown into the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.”
“One of the casualties of their neglect and mismanagement led to the retaliatory firing of a dedicated and caring school teacher,” he continued.
“Today, my office brought a measure of justice for Erin Brooks. The Office of the Attorney General will always be a voice for victims, and we’re grateful for the jury’s verdict.”
Ironically, Brooks’ testimony to the grand jury wasn’t related to the two sexual assaults but rather the incidents against her and her teaching assistant.
The two sexual assaults in question, which included the assault of Smith’s daughter, drew national attention. At the meeting where he was arrested, Smith accused the school district of covering up his daughter’s sexual assault by a gender-confused individual dressed like a female, where she was raped in the girl’s bathroom.
The same student was transferred to another high school where he did the exact same thing. Smith alleged the district covered up the sexual assaults to advance its transgender policies.
Ziegler then lied about the two assaults, claiming at the school board meeting that “the predator transgender student simply does not exist” and “we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms.”
However, in an email dated May 28, 2021, the same day as the initial sexual assault, Ziegler alerted school board members that such an assault had indeed been reported. In a special grand jury report, they said the school district was looking out for its own interests instead of students, and the school system “failed at every juncture.”
Ziegler still faces a misdemeanor charge concerning his statements at the school board meeting.
CNN reported that last month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin pardoned Smith.
“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter. Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement.
“In Virginia, parents matter, and my resolve to empower parents is unwavering. A parent’s fundamental right to be involved in their child’s education, upbringing, and care should never be undermined by bureaucracy, school divisions, or the state. I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all,” the governor added.
In an interesting twist, Just the News reported Ziegler showed up at his trial wearing lipstick and nail polish. That could explain his apparent nonchalant handling of the sexual assault allegations perpetrated by gender-confused males made by female Loudoun County students.
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