{"id":2047762,"date":"2023-09-28T09:40:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T13:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-his-criminal-trial-former-loudoun-county-superintendent-blames-sex-assault-victims\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T09:43:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T13:43:42","slug":"in-his-criminal-trial-former-loudoun-county-superintendent-blames-sex-assault-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-his-criminal-trial-former-loudoun-county-superintendent-blames-sex-assault-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Loudoun County Superintendent blames sex assault victims in criminal trial."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-his-criminal-trial-former-loudoun-county-superintendent-blames-sex-assault-victims%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2047762&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Loudoun County \u2062Superintendent on\u200b Trial for Retaliating Against \u2063Whistleblower Teacher<\/h2>\n<p>The criminal\u200c trial of \u2063former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler enters its fourth day as he faces charges of retaliating against a teacher who exposed sexual abuse and cooperated with a special \u200bgrand jury investigating the \u200dschool\u2063 system&#8217;s cover-up of a\u2062 bathroom \u2063rape.<\/p>\n<p>In court, former teacher Erin Brooks testified about the disturbing incidents she experienced,\u2064 including a 10-year-old autistic student repeatedly grabbing her genitals and making \u200csexual gestures with his tongue. When Brooks expressed\u2064 concerns about her safety, administrators offered her a piece of cardboard\u200d to shield herself and even suggested buying her an apron to &#8220;slow down the penetration.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ziegler&#8217;s\u200c attorney and the school&#8217;s principal attempted to \u2062shift blame onto Brooks and her teaching\u200b aide, claiming that the student did not exhibit\u2062 the\u200b same behavior with \u200dhis new teacher \u200dand \u200cthat the teachers failed to implement their suggestions, such\u2062 as using the apron.<\/p>\n<p>This \u2064trial presents an opportunity for Loudoun officials \u200cto face\u2062 criminal consequences following\u2063 the acquittal of their spokesperson \u2063on perjury charges. Outrage over the school system&#8217;s cover-up of \u2062a rape, \u2063coupled with \u200dthe county prosecutor&#8217;s controversial actions, prompted Governor Glenn Youngkin to\u200b empower a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-prosecutors-convene-grand-jury-to-hear-evidence-in-criminal-investigation-into-trump-others\/\" title=\"NY Prosecutors Convene Grand Jury To Hear Evidence In Criminal Investigation Into Trump, Others\">special grand jury<\/a> to investigate the school\u200c system.<\/p>\n<p>Ziegler is \u2062charged with three \u2063misdemeanors related to \u2063his alleged punishment\u200d of a teacher for \u200bcooperating\u200d with\u2063 the grand jury and discussing another incident of sexual abuse that she believed \u200bthe school \u200dsystem wanted \u2064to conceal.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Principal Mackey&#8217;s Troubling Demonstration<\/h3>\n<p>During the trial, prosecutors asked Principal \u200dMackey \u2064to demonstrate what she wanted \u2062Brooks to\u200d do with the cardboard. \u2064Shockingly, Mackey stood\u200d up and \u200bheld it in front of her\u2064 groin, suggesting that Brooks should have been &#8220;professional enough&#8221; to handle the situation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ziegler&#8217;s defense repeatedly insinuated that\u2062 Brooks was responsible \u200dfor her own assault\u2064 because she refused to give the autistic student\u2063 an iPad, leading to his\u2064 frustration. However, little evidence was presented to\u2064 support this claim,\u2063 and\u200c it remains \u200bunclear why Brooks,\u200d an experienced special education teacher, would have a motive to\u2064 deny the\u200c student an iPad.<\/p>\n<p>Brooks and\u200b her teaching aide, Vandermeulen, diligently\u2064 documented\u2064 the daily assaults they endured\u200d and\u200b shared\u2063 this information with Principal Mackey via email. However, Mackey never \u200cbothered to \u200dopen the emails. Fearing another cover-up, \u200cVandermeulen\u200c began forwarding some emails to her \u2062personal Gmail account.<\/p>\n<p>Vandermeulen \u200bbroke down in tears on the witness \u2064stand, \u200crecounting the abuse\u2064 she suffered from both the\u2063 student and the school administration\u200d when she advocated\u2062 for it to stop.<\/p>\n<p>Desperate for help, Vandermeulen reached out to Ian Prior, a frequent speaker at school board\u200b meetings, \u2062who \u2062relayed her concerns to the board. Brooks also\u2064 contacted Prior to ensure the child&#8217;s privacy \u200bwas protected, although it turned out to be unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>Following the\u2064 school board meeting, the student was immediately removed from Brooks&#8217; and Vandermeulen&#8217;s classroom. However, instead of receiving support, \u2064Brooks \u2062found herself\u2064 under \u2062investigation by the\u200c school system \u2063and \u2062facing retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Mackey&#8217;s performance evaluation of Brooks, which was read in\u2062 court,\u200d repeatedly\u200c blamed\u2064 her for\u200b the assault and claimed her failure to control the classroom led to \u2062the student&#8217;s removal.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Mackey&#8217;s Lack of Professionalism<\/h3>\n<p>When \u200casked about the appropriate professional response to having her\u2063 genitals \u200ctouched, Mackey responded, &#8220;I \u2062don&#8217;t know.&#8221; This shocking \u200cadmission raises serious concerns about her ability to\u200d handle such situations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Evidence \u2064presented during the trial \u2064highlighted Brooks&#8217; exceptional teaching skills and positive reviews, making Ziegler&#8217;s recommendation to fire \u200dher all\u200c the \u2063more puzzling. The school district accused Brooks of violating \u200bthe \u200dstudent&#8217;s \u2062privacy after an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-his-criminal-trial-former-loudoun-county-superintendent-blames-sex-assault-victims\/\" title=\"Former Loudoun County Superintendent blames sex assault victims in criminal trial.\">education activist vaguely mentioned\u200b workplace\u2062 safety concerns<\/a> at \u200ca\u2064 school board meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Ziegler&#8217;s defense claimed that Brooks&#8217; termination was to protect the school district from potential lawsuits \u200bby the assailant&#8217;s parents. \u2062However, evidence suggests that \u200dthe parents were unresponsive and that\u2063 the \u2064student may have been experiencing abuse \u200bat home.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Mackey testified \u2064that she \u2064recommended Brooks&#8217; termination without pressure\u2064 from \u200dZiegler but later\u200c admitted that her previous\u200c denial of discussing \u200cit with him was false. She \u200brevealed that \u200cshe did have a phone call\u200c with Ziegler regarding\u200d the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution argued that Ziegler aggressively pushed\u200c for \u2062Brooks&#8217; firing as retaliation for her Title IX \u200bcomplaint and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-asks-judge-to-dissmiss-her-from-trump-georgia-suit\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell seeks dismissal from Trump's Georgia lawsuit.\">grand jury \u2064testimony<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>School\u200c board\u2063 member John Beatty testified that Ziegler \u200cfalsely claimed Brooks disclosed private\u2062 information about a child to a conservative activist.\u2064 Beatty also mentioned Ziegler&#8217;s suspicious \u2062behavior when questioned about the\u200b termination.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Mackey acknowledged that \u200dshe demanded to see Brooks&#8217; grand jury subpoena when she requested a \u200dday off \u200bto testify. The \u2063grand jury had previously warned school employees\u2063 and board members not to obstruct their investigation, and Mackey admitted to close \u2062communication with\u2062 the cabinet member who issued the warning.<\/p>\n<p>The special grand jury was initiated \u200bby\u2063 Governor Youngkin in response to The Daily\u2063 Wire&#8217;s report on the\u200d school system&#8217;s attempt to conceal\u2062 a sexual \u2062assault. The local prosecutor&#8217;s controversial actions, including attempting \u2064to jail the rape victim&#8217;s father, further fueled the need for\u200d an \u2064investigation. Ziegler faces three \u2063misdemeanors, \u200dtwo related to Brooks and one to be\u200d tried separately in\u200d February for\u200c providing false information about sexual\u200b assaults in school \u200bbathrooms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/loudoun-said-trumps-policies-forced-them-to-cover-up-rape-its-own-lawyers-found-the-opposite-in-secret-report\">Loudoun Said Trump\u2019s Policies Forced Them To Cover \u2064Up Rape. \u2062Its Own Lawyers Found The\u200c Opposite In Secret\u200b Report.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How has the culture of secrecy and intimidation within the \u200dadministration\u200c impacted the handling of sexual\u200d abuse complaints within the Loudoun County Public Schools?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ts and\u200b public backlash. However, critics argue that this explanation does \u2063not justify punishing a teacher for raising legitimate safety concerns and cooperating with a grand jury\u200c investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The trial also \u2064shed light\u2064 on the school system&#8217;s efforts to\u2063 cover up the \u200dbathroom rape incident, as several\u2064 witnesses testified \u2062about the culture\u2062 of secrecy and intimidation within the administration.\u2064 One teacher who\u200b reported the assault was allegedly \u200bforced into \u200dretirement, \u2063while another faced continuous\u200c harassment \u200duntil they resigned. These tactics employed by the \u200dschool system not only \u2063hindered justice but\u2064 also sent a message to other teachers that speaking out \u200bwould have\u200b severe consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the trial, the defense continuously \u2063attempted to undermine the\u2062 credibility \u2062of \u200bthe whistleblowers. They insinuated that the allegations were exaggerated or \u2063even fabricated, despite the\u2063 overwhelming evidence presented \u2064by \u200bthe prosecution. The defense \u200calso relied on victim-blaming tactics,\u200d suggesting that the teachers were responsible for their assaults and should have \u2064been \u2064able to handle the situations better.<\/p>\n<p>However, the\u200c testimonies of \u200cBrooks\u2063 and Vandermeulen, along\u2062 with \u200bother corroborating\u200b evidence, painted a clear picture of a school system \u200bthat failed to protect\u2063 its\u2063 teachers \u2062and students.\u2062 It revealed a\u2064 lack of accountability and an apparent\u2064 disregard\u200d for the safety\u200c and well-being of their employees.<\/p>\n<p>This\u2064 case\u2062 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analyst-weighs-in-on-daniel-penny-chokehold-case\/\" title=\"Expert analyzes Daniel Penny's chokehold case.\">garnered significant attention<\/a> \u2062and outrage from the\u2064 community,\u200b highlighting the need for systemic changes within the Loudoun County\u200b Public \u200dSchools. The mishandling of sexual abuse complaints, the culture of secrecy, \u2064and the retaliatory actions against\u2062 whistleblowers have eroded trust \u200cin the school system.<\/p>\n<p>As \u2062the trial continues, \u2064it remains to \u2063be seen whether justice will prevail and if the school system will \u200bbe\u200c held accountable. This case\u2062 serves as a sobering reminder of how important it is to protect whistleblowers and ensure that victims of sexual abuse \u200creceive the \u200csupport \u2064and justice they deserve.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of this trial will not only \u2064impact the lives of the\u200c individuals involved but will also shape the future of the Loudoun\u2062 County Public\u200b Schools. It is a critical moment for the community and\u2062 an opportunity to demand transparency, accountability, and meaningful change from\u2064 the school system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler&#8217;s criminal trial enters its fourth day, with charges of retaliation against a whistleblower teacher and cooperation with a special grand jury investigating the school system after sexual abuse allegations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":2047763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2047762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2047762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2047762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2047762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2047762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}