What’s happening in Loudon County?
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/05/loudoun-sexual-assault-stone-bridge/
A teenage girl who was sexually assaulted in a Virginia high school bathroom has sued Loudoun County Public Schools, alleging that school officials failed to heed warning signs about her attacker and responded to her May 2021 assault by trying to cover it up.
Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning.The teenager, who filed the lawsuit under the pseudonym “Jane Doe” along with her parents, was 15 years old when a younger, male student in a skirt assaulted her in a girls’ bathroom at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn on May 28, 2021.
The incident garnered national attention. Conservatives protested a policy in Loudoun County schools — put in place after the assault — that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity. Meanwhile, outraged parents in Loudoun County questioned why the perpetrator was moved to a different school, where he assaulted a second female student months later.
The teen was convicted of both attacks. His mother and teachers denied claims on the right that he was “gender-fluid.” He remains in a juvenile mental health facility, according to the Stone Bridge victim’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
“It’s been a long, hard-fought battle, and we’re finally glad to be able to put this lawsuit forward and set a precedent that this should never happen to any child anywhere across the nation,” the teenager’s father, Scott Smith, told The Washington Post. He is not named in the suit but has made public appearances and statements in connection with the incident. “We’re putting it in God’s hands,” he said.
In the lawsuit, attorney Bill Stanley, a Republican state senator who has represented Smith’s family for more than a year, wrote that they are seeking at least $30 million in damages and alleged that school officials’ “failure to respond promptly and adequately to reports that Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by another LCPS student constituted sex discrimination, in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.”
Loudoun schools delayed probe of high-profile sex assault for months
The girl “was admitted to the hospital for two weeks for physical, mental, and emotional trauma she suffered because of the sexual assault,” Stanley said in the lawsuit. She was bullied and harassed by other students after the incident, and a Loudoun County judge in January granted a two-year protective order forbidding contact from one student “who threatened her with death,” Stanley added.
AdvertisementThe lawsuit alleged, without providing details, that “the Loudoun County Public School system was previously aware that Jane Doe’s attacker had inappropriate sexual contact with another student a few years earlier on school grounds. Despite this knowledge, the LCPS system failed to protect Jane Doe (and others) from the harm she subsequently suffered.” Stanley did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
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That’s her suit. We’re still waiting for the suit from the father.
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@Jolly said in What’s happening in Loudon County?:
Will there be one?
Against the school district? Likely not. Against the Commonwealth’s Attorney? Very possibly. Against the Sheriff’s department? Probably. Against Loudoun Love Warriors? Definitely.
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Respond to the FOIA...
The Daily Wire on Tuesday sued the Virginia school system at the center of a rape coverup, stating that Loudoun County Public Schools is violating public records laws by refusing the news outlet’s requests for documentation on legal settlements.
Loudoun, like other school districts throughout the country, has abused “privacy” laws to refuse to turn over basic information under the guise of protecting children’s identities, even if children’s identities would not be exposed. The reference to inapplicable privacy laws suggests the school district’s real purpose may be to hide embarrassing conduct by administrators.
The Daily Wire’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asked for a list of legal settlements by LCPS. That essentially amounts to a list of times the school district did something it could have been sued for, and how much taxpayer money it spent to make it go away. Out-of-court settlements allow the district to avoid a public trial, and settlements can require the other party to agree to certain terms — perhaps even a stipulation preventing them from talking about the school’s misconduct — in exchange for the money.
On October 2, 2023 The Daily Wire requested “copies of all legal settlements entered into between May 1, 2023 and the present,” specifying that it was “not seeking the name of the student or the parents, and you should redact those names.”
LCPS first claimed the request was too broad – suggesting it had entered into so many settlements that it would be burdensome to produce them. Then it claimed that “even if the student’s name is removed,” settlements would still be a private academic record “given that the requestor (or others) could discern the identity” of a student involved.
The Daily Wire then requested just a financial ledger showing the dollar amounts spent on legal settlements. LCPS claimed, without explanation, that it had “no records that are responsive to your request,” suggesting the unlikely situation that the school system does not keep financial records.
The Daily Wire “filed a valid FOIA request seeking information on the amount of money the School Board and Administration has spent to cover-up and avoid responsibility for their actions,” the lawsuit filed by America First Legal said.
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So, school board changed… A few parental rights candidates made it on to the board, but the majority was more of the same. The head of the “conservative” board members is a Jewish lady named Deanna Griffiths. She’s made a bit of a ruckus but nothing has changed. Last week she was at a graduation and one of the students came up with a Kefiyeh embroidered “From the River to the Sea”. The student is not Palestinian. She refused to shake hands with the student and all hell has broken loose.
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I believe that I had mentioned Natalie Allen, the new “Communications Officer” hired by LCPS to bring a new level of transparency and community conversation to Loudoun County. The school board is paying Natalie over $250K per year. By comparison, the Secretary of State earns $221K per year. So yeah…
At any rate, in order to increase transparency and community conversation since her arrival, these are the steps she’s taken…
Run a troll X account attacking critics of LCPS School Board -
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Now, for those of you that don’t know, Nick Minock has been the local news reporter on ABC that has won multiple Emmy’s for his coverage and reporting on Loudoun County Government and LCPS School Board.
In deleted posts, she has said
conservative parents are lying sacks of s — '
and concerned moms
'little sewing group' of 'middle-aged soccer mom[s]' who were angry because their pool boys would not have sex with them.
And notably -
'We're trying to get those white people to stop being a — holess
She has also shut down the cameras for the public comment section of the board meetings, meaning they aren’t broadcast and aren’t even saved for the record. Yay, Transparency and Community Conversations!
She also introduced a policy stating that all School Board Member written communications with the press and constituents come through her office.
She is also responsible for the multiple blocks to the FOIA requests that @George-K posted about.
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Weird.. I deleted the above post while trying to edit it, then restored it, and it didn’t pop up as a recent update in the page.
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What the actual fuck…
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They are adding more staff positions than new students next year…
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Crazy. Here if a school budget (the largest chunk of overall property taxes) rises more than, I think, 2%, there's a higher vote threshold it needs to pass.
Cuomo (fils) actually put that in place. I remember thinking that he should have anchored it to an inflation index rather than a hard number, but here we are.
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So a few months back, a girl that pretends to be a boy went into a boys locker room. Three boys asked her to leave. So Loudoun County is of course investigating the three young men for Title IX sexual harassment charges.
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Tonight is the school board meeting. The head of the board is shutting down commentators supporting the boys, preventing parents from coming in by claiming personal bags are too large (they’ve been measured and are within the rules), and not allowing parents into the building claiming it’s at capacity (there are three dozen empty chairs).
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