OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:36 PM – Sunday, September 9, 2023
The governor of Virginia has pardoned a man who received a conviction of disorderly conduct at a school board meeting after his daughter was sexually assaulted.
According to a statement provided by the governor’s office on Sunday, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) pardoned Scott Smith, a Loudoun County father who was convicted of disruptive behavior at a school board meeting in 2021.
“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter. Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia,” said Youngkin. “… I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all.”
In May 2021, a 14-year-old student at Stone Bridge High School had sexually abused a female student.
After he transferred to Broad Run High School, the 14-year-old sexually attacked another female student just 5 months later.
He was later found guilty of forcibly touching another classmate at a nearby school where the perpetrator was permitted to attend classes while awaiting trial in juvenile court. Word circulated around that the student, who was born male, was wearing a skirt during the first assault.
At the Loudoun County School Board meeting in August 2021, Smith was speaking out about his daughter’s assault and the circumstances surrounding it when he was arrested for alleged “disruptive behavior.”
Smith reportedly threatened deputies who hauled him away from a Loudoun County School Board meeting over the student’s “state-mandated transgender rights.”
According to reports, he yelled loudly, clenched his fist, and swore at a woman while seeking more information about his daughter’s assault.
The Virginia Department of Education posted model policies last fall stating that students’ use of toilet and locker facilities should be based on biological sex and that children must be referred to by their name and pronouns in their official records unless a parent allows otherwise.
Smith, along with his attorneys, Bill Stanley and Mike Joynes, issued statements in response to Youngkin’s pardon.
“What happened to my daughter was a horrible, but preventable tragedy that she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. And the way the public school system, the School Board, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and SRO Department, and the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office handled this situation was abhorrent and completely unacceptable, ” Smith said.
“I want to thank Governor Youngkin for his declaration that I am innocent, and for his absolute and unconditional pardon. While I was extremely confident in my lawyers’ abilities to defend me in court, I am grateful that the Governor recognizes that our justice system has been both weaponized and politicized to the point where my ability to receive a fair trial was in jeopardy. And while this pardon closes one chapter in this ongoing battle, a new chapter has now begun. I will continue to fight for parents and their children who are affected by these misguided and dangerous school policies. ”
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