Fired superintendent faces criminal charges over handling of sex assaults involving skirt-wearing biological boy – and district spokesperson indicted on felony count

One year after two female students were sexually assaulted by the same biological boy who claimed to be transgender, Loudoun County Public Schools former superintendent Scott Ziegler was indicted by a special grand jury on Monday, WUSA reported.

Ziegler was terminated from his position by the school board last week following the grand jury's report regarding his handling of the two sexual assault cases.

According to commonwealth Attorney General Jason Miyares, Ziegler was charged with one count of misdemeanor false publication, one count of misdemeanor prohibited conduct, and one count of misdemeanor penalizing an employee for a court appearance.

Ziegler was accused of retaliation against Erin Brooks, a former special education teacher at LCPS, for making a court appearance and "expressing views on matters of public concern."

In June, Brooks sued the school district for not renewing her contract, which she alleged was retaliation for her complaints that a student had sexually assaulted her multiple times.

Also announced on Monday, LCPS spokesperson Wayde Byard was charged with one felony count of perjury for allegedly lying under oath on August 2. The district placed Byard on administrative leave following the allegations.

What's the background?

The first sexual assault occurred at Stone Bridge High School on May 28, 2021. A skirt-wearing biological boy was accused – and later convicted – of raping a 15-year-old female student in the girls' bathroom.

The attacker was removed from the school and quietly moved to Broad Run High School, another school in the LCPS district.

On October 6, 2021, the biological boy was accused of sexually assaulting another female student. The assailant was also later convicted of the second sexual assault.

Scott Smith, the first victim's father, accused the district of attempting to cover up the horrific attacks to protect the district's transgender policy that allows students to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

The story received national attention when Smith was arrested at a school board meeting on June 22, 2021. During that meeting, Ziegler claimed he had no "record of assaults occurring in our restrooms" and that "the predator transgender student or person simply does not exist."

The grand jury report released last week revealed that Ziegler was aware of the assault accusations and called his statement at the school board meeting a "bald-faced lie."

The grand jury accused the district of displaying a "stunning lack of openness, transparency and accountability, both to the public and to the special grand jury."

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