LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A judge in Loudoun County set aside the guilty verdict against former schools chief Scott Ziegler, who was convicted of retaliating against a teacher who accused officials of withholding protection from a student who inappropriately touched her. Chief Circuit Court Judge Douglas L. Fleming Jr. granted a new trial, citing incorrect jury instructions in the misdemeanor case.
While setting aside the verdict, Judge Fleming acknowledged that there was enough evidence to sustain a conviction against Ziegler, who was fired in 2022 for mishandling sexual assault cases. The incident drew national attention to Loudoun County schools.
The judge’s decision was based on the requirement that the jury find Ziegler knowingly committed the act of retaliation, which was not made clear during the trial. Both the defense and the prosecutors erred in instructing the jury on this matter.
Ziegler’s attorney, Erin Harrigan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for Attorney General Jason Miyares, stated that they plan to retry Ziegler.
The case revolves around allegations that Ziegler carried out a campaign of retaliation against Erin Brooks, a special-education teacher, and ultimately fired her. Brooks had brought attention to the school district’s handling of sexual assaults.
Parents had already been critical of Loudoun officials for allowing a student who had committed sexual assault at one school to enroll at another, where he committed another assault. Brooks’ allegations intensified the scrutiny on the school district.
The case also brought the issue of transgender students’ bathroom rights, after the perpetrator, who was not transgender, assaulted a female student in a girls’ bathroom at Stone Bridge High School. Conservative criticism of a policy that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice was also drawn into the debate.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin made the assaults a focal point of his election campaign, leading to an investigation into the handling of the incidents by Loudoun schools. A special grand jury report blamed Ziegler and other officials for mishandling the sexual assaults.
Ziegler was indicted by the grand jury for retaliation against Brooks and for allegedly lying about the first assault at a school board meeting. Ziegler claimed he misunderstood the question. Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde Byard was also indicted for lying during his testimony before the grand jury.
In a separate trial, Byard was acquitted of perjury, and Miyares dropped the charge against Ziegler for lying publicly. Miyares has yet to secure a conviction in any of the criminal cases related to the Loudoun schools incidents.
An internal report commissioned by Loudoun schools, which was unsealed in September, found that the district failed to investigate the first sexual assault for months and did not properly assess the threat posed by the perpetrator.