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Loudoun County dad arrested for ‘trespassing’ at local public school board meeting found not guilty
Grand jury has convened in Loudoun County trans student rape case to determine if school officials should face charges
A special grand jury has convened to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against officials in Loudoun County, Virginia, who stand accused of covering up multiple sexual assaults committed against female students by a biological male transgender classmate last year.
The formation of the grand jury, which is a regular pretrial process, was first reported by Loudoun Now journalist Hayley Milon Bour on Wednesday.
Multiple sources have confirmed that a special grand jury has been convened re: the investigation into the Loudoun County School Board's handling of multiple sexual assaults in LCPS high schools #loudoun #lcps— Hayley Milon Bour (@Hayley Milon Bour) 1649812304
Outrage over the district's alleged cover-up of the assaults drew national headlines last year after the father of the first victim was arrested during a raucous school board meeting where parents had gathered to protest critical race theory and transgender-affirming policies pushed by the district.
Following his arrest, the father, Scott Smith, decided to speak out more publicly and provided detail about the incident in an interview with the Daily Wire. Smith said that his 15-year-old daughter was attacked in the women's restroom of Stone Bridge High School by a boy in a skirt amid the district's embrace of preferred gender bathroom use.
The boy in question was later found guilty on one felony count of forcible sodomy and one felony count of forcible fellatio for his assault against Smith's daughter. Yet, according to Smith, the district originally decided to handle things "in-house" and quietly transferred the boy to another school in the county so as to avoid negative press.
Tragically, while at the other school, Broad Run High, the student assaulted another female classmate and was found guilty on one felony count of abduction and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
Since the very start, onlookers have accused Loudoun County Public Schools of being intentionally misleading about the incident. In January, the progressive school board sparked further backlash when announcing it would not release a taxpayer-funded report documenting the incidents in order to protect the privacy of the families involved.
Then in January, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin — who was elected to office late last year riding a wave of hostility against progressive school boards — issued an executive order initiating an investigation into Loudoun County officials over their handling of the sexual assault incidents.
In response to the latest new of a grand jury's convening, the district put out a statement insisting "it intends to cooperate with the lawful requests of the special grand jury, while protecting the privacy rights of our students to the extent permitted by law and in accordance with all applicable legal privileges."
following the news, @lcps just released the following statement:pic.twitter.com/NObIKViRbT— Hayley Milon Bour (@Hayley Milon Bour) 1649861702
The district added that in response to the incidents, it has taken "several steps to help protect our students from such incidents happening in the future. LCPS has expanded the size and scope of our Title IX office by hiring a full-time Title IX Coordinator and additional investigative staff, [and] expanded our Office of Division Counsel to better assist staff with issues relating to legal compliance."
Loudoun County schools under investigation www.youtube.com
Trump supporter faces simple assault charges after blowing on anti-Trump protesters
A man wearing a Trump shirt and seen breathing on anti-Trump protesters in a video that went viral over the weekend has been charged with misdemeanor assault by Virginia police.
Loudon County police charged Raymond Deskins, 61, of Sterling, Virginia, with misdemeanor simple assault after he allegedly blew on two women who were protesting outside the Trump National Golf Club on Sunday, WRC-TV reports. One of the women, Kathy Beynette, told WRC-TV that Trump supporters were counterprotesting across the street from where they were.
"Then, quite out of nowhere, the guy came over from across the street, came charging across the street," Beynette said.
She began filming as the man, wearing a Trump T-shirt and an inflatable Trump innertube around his waist, confronted her and her fellow anti-Trump protester.
In the video, one of the women tells the man, "You're in my face and you don't have a mask, so you need to back off."
One of the women yells, "Get away from me! Get away from me!"
The other says, "You don't get up in somebody's face," and the man responds, "I'm not in anybody's face."
Then she replies, "You are in my face — and you don't have a mask, so you need to back up."
Then the man takes a deep breath and begins blowing on them.
"He just proceeded to assault us by taking a deep breath and doing a very powerful exhalation on both of us," Beynette said.
The Loudon County Sheriff's office released a statement on Sunday announcing charges against Deskins.
"Two separate parties reported they were assaulted during a verbal argument outside of Trump National Golf Club," police said. "As the incident was not witnessed by law enforcement and the video did not capture the entire interaction, an investigation was conducted on scene and both parties were advised they could go to a Loudoun County Magistrate and seek a citizen obtained warrant."
"This afternoon our deputies served a warrant obtained by a citizen through a Loudoun County Magistrate. Raymond Deskins, age 61, of Sterling, VA, was charged with simple assault (misdemeanor) and released on a summons."
Update on video circulating on social media after an incident near Trump National Golf Club. https://t.co/NFnbmOnYRi— Loudoun Co. Sheriff (@Loudoun Co. Sheriff)1606082035.0
Beynette told WRC-TV she's worried that about contracting COVID-19 from the incident, saying that she's had to cancel her Thanksgiving plans because she might have been exposed to the virus.
"We're both senior citizens both close to 70 years old, which puts us in a high-risk category," she said. "Because of this guy, my family has had to cancel the small Thanksgiving that we had planned with just a few people because I said I might've been exposed."
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