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On Friday Virginia Republican Governor Youngkin pardoned a Loudoun County father who was arrested at a school board meeting in June 2021. 

Scott Smith was reacting in a school board meeting when the Superintendent was publicly denying that Smith’s daughter’s assault had taken place at the school. His 15-year-old daughter was assaulted in her school’s bathroom in Ashburn, Virginia on May 28.

Governor Youngkin pardons victim’s father

Smith was charged with obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct for his behavior at the meeting.

He was convicted of both charges in 2021. Smith’s conviction for resisting arrest was later dismissed, and he eventually received a suspended sentence of 10 days in jail.

The Governor’s statement announcing the pardon said that “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.” 

“In Virginia, parents matter and my resolve to empower parents is unwavering. A parent’s fundamental right to be involved in their child’s education, upbringing, and care should never be undermined by bureaucracy, school divisions or the state. I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all,” he added.

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HB 257 allowed cover-up

In Virginia, the state's Democratic majority legislature passed HB 257. It ended mandatory school reporting of sexual battery to the police.

"They not only covered up a heinous crime, but they enabled an offender being prosecuted of sexual assault to attack again," Youngkin added. 

Superintendent Scott Ziegler knew about Scott Smith’s daughter being assaulted on May 28. And was involved in email correspondence that day.

But the assault was hidden from the public for five months while Ziegler claimed to parents that there was no record of any sexual assaults in the bathroom.

The same student was accused of committing a second sexual assault against a girl on Oct. 6 at a different school.

Deputies eventually arrested the student in connection with the sexual assault against Smith’s daughter.

He was found guilty in that case and later pleaded to the second assault case.

During Youngkin's first day in office, he issued an executive order to investigate the sexual assaults in Loudoun County. Superintendent Scott Zeigler was fired in December 2022 after a grand jury report into the district's handling of the matters.

Youngkin leaned heavily on these issues during his 2021 gubernatorial campaign, vowing on election night, “We’re going to embrace our parents, not ignore them.”