The superintendent of the Loundon County School District has announced there will be an independent review into its handling of sexual misconduct allegations.
Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler wrote in a recent email to parents and staff members that the district has hired the Blankingship and Keith P.C. law firm to conduct an independent review of the district's handling of sexual assault allegations at two of its high schools.
He noted that district officials 'believe we have followed all mandatory reporting protocols and aided law enforcement to the fullest extent allowed in all investigations regarding these matters.'
But, he said: 'We acknowledge that these matters need to be fully reviewed.
'Consequently, and with full support of the school board, Loudon County Public Schools hired Blnkingship and Keith P.C on October 28, 2021 to conduct an independent review of these incidents.
'Please know that this independent review is only one step in moving forward to help heal our school community,' Ziegler wrote in the email, which was also posted to the district's website on Friday.
'We will keep you up-to-date about the steps we take and the progress we make,' he said. 'Together, we believe we can make our schools a safer, more nurturing environment for every student.'
Loudon County School District Superintendent wrote in an email to parents and staff members that the district has hired an independent contractor to review its handling of sexual assault allegations at two of its high schools
There were sexual assaults reported at two of the district's high schools over the past year -first a rape at Stone Bridge High School, left, on May 28, and then a claim of sexual assault at Broad Run High School, right, on October 6
The district has hired Blankingship & Keith PC law firm to investigate the district's handling of these allegations
The Virginia school district was thrust into the national spotlight amid allegations a 15-year-old boy wearing a skirt raped a female classmate in the girl's bathroom at Stone Bridge High School on May 28.
One month later, Scott Smith, the father of the rape victim, was dragged out of a school board meeting with a bloodied mouth after listening to school officials deny that a girl had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom after his daughter had reported the rape.
The superintendent said at the time: 'We don't have any records of assaults occurring in our restrooms.'
But on the day of the incident, he sent an email to colleagues confirming that it had been reported, writing: 'This afternoon, a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom.'
Soon, the issue exploded, with parents throughout the county protesting the school's transgender policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, overtaking school board meetings and demanding that Ziegler resign.
He later apologized, FOX News reports, saying: 'First, let me say to the families and students involved - my heart aches for you and I am sorry that we failed to provide the safe, welcoming and affirming environment that we aspire to provide.'
And on October 15, Ziegler said he 'wrongly interpreted' Smith's question 'about discipline incidents in bathrooms.'
'I regret that my comments were misleading, and I apologize for the distress that error caused families,' he said.
Still, the district has denied allegations of a cover-up with Wayne Byard, a spokesman for the district, telling FOX News in late October that the district reported the alleged assault on May 28 to the sheriff's office 'immediately,' but because the incident was still under investigation, the report 'could not be released to the general public' at the time.
Another incident on October 6 at Broad Run High School, he noted, was also reported to the Sheriff's Office immediately.
'In the current politically-charged atmosphere, a lot of claims and demands have been made,' Byard said in a statement, adding: 'The focus of the superintendent and school board remains the education of Loudon County's 81,000 students.'
The district was thrust into the national spotlight on June 22, when Scott Smith, the father of the rape victim, was dragged out of a school board meeting with a bloodied mouth after listening to school officials deny that his daughter had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom after she reported it to officials
Superintendent Scott Ziegler claimed that day that he'd received 'no report' of a sexual assault in the school bathrooms. But on May 28, the day it happened, he sent this email to colleagues confirming that it had been reported, writing: 'This afternoon, a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom'
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old boy was found guilty of the assault on October 25, when a judge 'substantiated' charges of forcible sodomy and forcible fellatio, the juvenile equivalent of a conviction.
He was sent back to juvenile detention, pending a hearing November 15 on the second case which occurred at Broad Run High School in the same county on October 6, a month after the district transferred him there.
In that incident, he allegedly pulled a girl into a classroom and inappropriately touched her.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the boy's mother, who asked not to be identified for the sake of her underage son, defended his actions as that of a heterosexual, hormonal teen who, in the case of the rape, had consensual sex with the girl twice before.
'He's a 15-year-old boy that wanted to have sex in the bathroom, with somebody that was willing,' she declared, sitting in an empty kitchen in her townhouse in Loudoun County, Virginia. 'And they're twisting this just enough to make it a political hot button issue.'
She said that 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
