‘STUNNING’

Ex-Loudoun County Superintendent Indicted Over Student Sex Assaults

Scott Ziegler was one of two Loudoun County Public Schools officials charged in the unsealed indictments, with the other being a district spokesperson.

A week after a Virginia grand jury released its report condemning a school district for displaying a “stunning lack of openness, transparency and accountability” while handling two sexual assaults involving a student, indictments were handed down against two district officials—including its recently fired superintendent. Scott Ziegler, who was Loudoun County Public Schools’ superintendent until his termination last Tuesday, was indicted on misdemeanor counts of false publication, prohibited conduct and penalizing an employee for a court appearance. District spokesman Wayde Byard faces one count of felony perjury. Details about the pair’s alleged misconduct were unavailable, a Virginia attorney general’s office spokesperson told The Washington Post, given the case’s pending status. The assaults, which drew outrage from the local community, were allegedly committed by the same male student, who was transferred to a different high school after the first incident in May 2021, only to commit a second attack five months later.