The former superintendent of infamous Loudoun County schools district - the epicenter of nationwide unrest in educational establishments - has been indicted by a Virginia grand jury.

Scott Ziegler was fired on December 6 in a unanimous decision by the board, shortly after a closed two-and-a-half-hour session. The board studied a damning report into the district's handling of two sex attacks in 2021 by a male pupil wearing a kilt.

The 15-year-old boy raped his female classmate in a transgender-friendly bathroom at Stone Bridge High School in Virginia in May last year.

The boy moved schools, and was then convicted of sexually assaulting another girl at the different school in October last year.

Loudoun County's former school board superintendent, Scott Ziegler (left), and his spokesman Wayde Byard (right) have both been indicted by a Virginia grand jury 

Ziegler during a school board meeting denied there were any records of the assaults – but the grand jury report earlier this month showed he had lied about the events.

Ziegler is now facing misdemeanor counts of false publication, using his position to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against an employee and falsely firing the same employee, according to indictments unsealed in Loudoun County and obtained by The Washington Post.

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His spokesman, Wayde Byard, is facing a count of felony perjury.

Ziegler told the paper he intended to fight the charges against him.

'I am disappointed that an Attorney General-controlled, secret, and one-sided process — which never once sought my testimony — has made such false and irresponsible accusations,' Ziegler wrote in the statement.

'I will vigorously defend myself. I look forward to a time when the truth becomes public.'

Byard has not commented.

The indictment references the two sexual assaults and the firing of a special needs teacher, who complained about being assaulted by a student, and was ultimately fired. 

Scott Smith, whose daughter was attacked by the 15-year-old boy, said he is pleased by the indictments but wants more action from the school board

The indictment is seen as a triumph for Virginia's governor Glenn Youngkin, who was elected in November 2021 after campaigning to curtail school boards and empower parents.

He singled out Loudoun County schools district as an example of a failing area, and sought the resignation of everyone on the board.

Asked for the governor's response to the indictments, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter pointed to an interview the governor gave to news outlet WJLA over the weekend.

'I do believe that part of my job as governor, is to make the decisions to shine light on circumstances like this,' Youngkin told WJLA

'That's what we were elected to do, and that's exactly what's happened.'

Scott Smith, the father of one of the girls who was attacked, and who hit headlines when he angrily protested during a board meeting, said he hopes the indictment will bring down 'the wall between LCPS and the moms and dads of Loudoun County.'

But Smith, who reacted with fury when Ziegler said during the meeting that he had no record of any sexual assaults at the schools, said he wants to see further action.

'This is just the beginning, this isn't the end,' said Smith.

'Our victory will be short lived if we don't get the school board to make major changes like step down.'

Smith was dragged to the floor and arrested during a school board meeting about the incident and was pictured with a bloody mouth. His daughter was pinned down and raped by the teenager who was 'wearing a skirt'

A report into how the school district handled it said that the second assault was 'preventable' but denied that there was a coordinated cover up

Scott and Jessica Smith said they were left devastated after discovering the teen had a history, and have branded him a 'psychopath' and a 'sexual predator'

Initially, Scott and his wife Jessica asked for the boy to be given treatment for rehabilitation, rather than going straight to jail.

But after the second incident came to light, which involved a different girl, Smith branded the teen as a 'psychopath' – warning 'we are going to hear about him again'.

A special report found that the second assault could have been prevented, and school district administrators lied to parents in an attempt to cover up the controversy over the transgender bathroom policy.

Smith also criticized the grand jury for failing to pin any criminal blame on the school and teachers, instead just recommending what they could do differently in the future.

Speaking to Fox News earlier this month, Smith said: 'They just lie, lie, lie. I can show you the picture of what he looked like that day it's on my phone.

'There was no kilt about it. I think he decided who he was and what he was on a daily basis. 

'I've seen evidence since that, unfortunately, my wife and I we fought very hard to get this child treatment and then evidence revealed to us after the fact that this kids a psychopath.

'He's a sexual predator and unfortunately, were going to hear about him again.'

The report found that Landon County Public Schools administrators were 'looking out for their own interests' instead of the interest of the school.

It went on to say: 'This invariably led to a stunning lack of openness, transparency, and accountability both to the public and the special grand jury.

Amanda Shallant (pictured) spoke during a school board meeting last week as she held a sign that read: 'LCPS protects rapists'

Superintendent Scott Ziegler claimed on June 22 that he'd received 'no report' of a sexual assault in the school bathrooms. On May 28, the day it happened, he sent this email to colleagues confirming that it had been reported. 'This afternoon, a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom' 

'There were several decision points for senior LCPS administrators, up to and including the superintendent, to be transparent and step in and alter the sequence of events leading up to the October 6, 2021 BRHS sexual assault.

'They failed at every juncture. We also believe the October 6 abduction and sexual assault of a female student at Broad Run High School could have, and should have, been prevented.'

The boy was still at large three hours after the assault, and during that time Principal Tim Flynn tried to get a no-trespass letter against Smith, who arrived and was upset about what happened to his daughter.

The school board has been routinely accused of pushing an ultra-liberal agenda on kids and parents and silencing those who disagree with them.

Dozens of parents attended rallies and meetings with the school board to voice their concerns over the allegations and cover up

An arrest warrant was issued two months later for two counts of forcible sodomy, and the student was released and transferred to Broad Run High School. He had previously been attending Stone Bridge High School, pictured

Letters were sent out to families offering counseling services to those who could have been affected by the commotion caused by Scott but did not mention the sexual assault. 

Ziegler, his deputy superintendent, and his chief of staff were made aware the boy had sexually assaulted a student.

An arrest warrant was issued two months later for two counts of forcible sodomy, and the student was released and transferred to Broad Run High School.

He only received a verbal warning, despite earlier reports that the student allegedly behaved inappropriately toward girls in his class.

The student went on to grab a female student who walked him to class, putting her in a chokehold until she couldn't breathe and then sexually assault her at his second school in October.

The boy, who DailyMail.com are not naming because they are a minor, was defended by his mother.

Speaking to DailyMail.com in November last year, she said: 'He's a 15-year-old boy that wanted to have sex in the bathroom, with somebody that was willing.

'And they're twisting this just enough to make it a political hot button issue.'

Despite his androgynous style and declaration that he's 'pansexual,' the boy's mother insisted he isn't the gender fluid boogeyman in a culture war about transgender policies.

Scott added that he hopes that the report is not the end of the matter, saying: 'I hope that the grand jury has not done their duty just yet and there is more teeth in it'

The report said that there was a 'stunning lack of openness, transparency, and accountability both to the public and the special grand jury'

A special report found that the second assault could have been prevented, and school district administrators lied to parents in an attempt to cover up the controversy over the transgender bathroom policy

'He would wear a skirt one day and then the next day, he would wear jeans and a t-shirt, a Polo or hoodie,' she explained.

'He was trying to find himself and that involved all kinds of styles. 

'I believe he was doing it because it gave him attention he desperately needed and sought.'

A spokesman for the Loundoun County School District said in a statement: 'In a news release on January 15, 2022, Attorney General Miyares alleged that LCPS' covered up a sexual assault on school grounds for political gain.

'To the best of our knowledge, this allegation was not true, and, after conducting an eight-month investigative process, during which it had the ability to interview any LCPS employee, Board member, and any other individuals beyond the LCPS community it deemed relevant, and during which it had access to virtually any LCPS record that was not otherwise legally privileged, the Special Grand Jury neither cited any evidence to support this serious allegation nor made any such conclusion in its Report.'

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