Education

Loudoun County Student Won’t Contest Sexual Battery Charge

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A Loudoun County student pleaded “no contest” to abduction and sexual battery Monday.

A juvenile court judge found the same male student guilty of sexually assaulting a different female student in an October case, Fox 5 DC reported. The “no contest” plea in this second case “means the boy is not admitting guilt, but he is not disputing the facts,” according to Fox.

NEW: Statement from Jessica Smith, the mother of the girl raped in Loudoun County, following news that her daughter’s 15-year-old attacker pleaded “no contest” to abduction and sexual battery. pic.twitter.com/8bXtHyJIYv

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) November 15, 2021

Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Barry Zweig said the boy wrapped his arms around the girl, pulled her into an empty room, put an arm around her neck and a hand over her mouth before groping her, according to WTOP News. The beginning of the incident was caught on camera before the two entered the empty room, and the boy admitted to pulling the girl into the room and touching her over her shirt, WTOP reported.

The boy was wearing an ankle monitor due to the initial May 28 incident, Fox reported.

Parents of the victim in the initial sexual assault are suing Loudoun County Public Schools over the incident and its aftermath. They are also taking action on the victim’s father’s arrest at a school board meeting after the attack.

“Today is not just another day for our family. It is a day that further vindicates my daughter against her attacker, holds him accountable for what he did, and helps advance the healing of both our daughter and our family from the suffering we have endured over these past months,” Jessica Smith, the mother of the victim in the initial case, said in a Monday statement.

“What we have been going through should be a lesson for parents across the Commonwealth. And, it should also serve as a call to action for all parents like us to stand up against local school boards that don’t put parents and their children first,” Smith said.