Loudoun County student accused of recording boys in Freedom High School bathroom

LOUDON COUNTY, Va. (7News) — A Loudoun County Public Schools student is accused of recording boys without their pants and underwear on while they were using the bathroom at Freedom High School.

Minock’s sources add this student has been using a phone to record naked boys underneath bathroom stalls for three years, more than 40 victims are involved, and school administrators have known about the situation for much longer than the school is letting on.

“It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking,” said Kristina, a mother of five LCPS students.

She told 7News she learned more about what was going on from 7News’s reporting Monday afternoon than from school officials.

“I read it's been going on for three years,” said Kristina. “I did not know until just now that the school knew about it. If that's the case, that's really bad. That's the school protecting the wrong party in this case.”

The school principal sent two emails to parents. One last week, and one at the end of April.

However, the emails omitted key details from 7News’s reporting, including the fact that there may be dozens of victims.

Instead, the emails said in part, that the school was aware of a report alleging a student recorded another student in the bathroom.

The Freedom High School principal’s emails encouraged parents not to speculate, spread rumors, and to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office if they have information.

Loudoun County father and attorney Ian Prior told 7News that LCPS could face legal action from parents and students.

“Are we to believe that this kid was getting away with it 40 times and only on the 41st time it was reported to school administration?” asked Prior. “Look, LCPS has lost the benefit of the doubt. And I think we really need to know what did they know? Had there been complaints before and they brushed it under the rug? I mean, this is seriously concerning. This is a Title IX issue. If the school system acted with deliberate indifference and allowed this to continue to go on, there are several students that are going to have, that could have, causes of action against the school under Title IX.”

7News reached out to LCPS for comment and asked when did LCPS first learn about the student recording other students in bathrooms.

At Tuesday night's school board meeting, 7News again tried getting a response to these allegations.

A security officers prevented our reporter and photojournalist from entering one part of the public parking lot.

"You can't set up down here. You can set up in the board room like normal only because this is for employees," the security officer said.

Inside the building, 7News On Your Side tried getting answers from a school district spokesperson, leading to the following exchange:

At that point in the day, and as of publication, 7News had not received an email with responses to our questions.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told 7News on Monday evening that the LCSO is investigating unlawful filming of juveniles at Freedom High School.

Oh. It's coming back to me. Loudoun County. Mm-hmm.

Published July 24, 2024 8:29pm EDT
The Loudoun County student convicted of sexually assaulting two different students as a juvenile was released from probation Wednesday. FOX 5's Katie Barlow was in the court for the decision.
LEESBURG, Va. - A controversial decision in Loudoun County has led to the release of a former student convicted of sexually assaulting two girls at separate schools.
The decision, handed down by Judge Pamela Brooks on Wednesday, has sparked some community concern.
Hunter Heckel, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting girls at two different high schools in Loudoun County, was ordered to be released from a residential treatment facility. Judge Brooks stated that Heckel is now in compliance with all requirements under his sentence, which included supervised probation.
A judge unsealed on Thursday the internal report done following two assaults that took place in two high schools by the same student in Loudoun County.
The first assault occurred in May 2021, when Heckel, wearing a skirt, assaulted a girl in the bathroom at Stone Bridge High School. The second assault took place at Broad Run High School in October 2021. Between these incidents, the Loudoun County School Board approved a policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. This decision led to heated school board meetings and placed Loudoun County in the national spotlight.
Scott Smith, the father of the first victim, expressed his frustration with the court’s decision.
"We’ve already been angry and mourned this two years ago when Judge Brooks had to retract her original sentencing. We wanted two things: for him to get help and to be permanently on the offenders list. He didn’t just assault our daughter; he assaulted another, and there are even alleged others," Smith said.
Loudoun County Public Schools is under fire after a report revealed a lack of transparency and accountability. The concerns arose after a special grand jury investigated two sexual assaults that happened in 2021 inside a bathroom and classroom on campus. FOX 5' Sierra Fox spoke to parents about the bombshell report.
Smith was arrested during a school board meeting after speaking out for his daughter.
Nicole Whitman, the Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney, also voiced her concerns.
"I wished that Heckel would be under supervised release until he was 21 years old, not 18, but the decision and the deal were made under the prior administration for the Commonwealth's Attorney, so it wasn’t up to me," Whitman stated.

What did he do to get arrested for?............

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has pardoned a Loudoun County father arrested during an incident at a Loudoun County School Board meeting in 2021, according to a statement released on Sunday.
A 14-year-old student sexually assaulted a female student at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021, but was allowed to transfer to Broad Run High School, where he abducted and sexually assaulted another female student in October of that year. The teen was later convicted in juvenile court.
Scott Smith, the father of the first victim, criticized school officials before Smith was arrested at a Loudoun County school board meeting. He was charged with obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct.
One of the charges was dropped on appeal, and the other was set to go to trial in about two weeks.
“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,” Youngkin’s statement read. “In Virginia, parents matter and my resolve to empower parents in 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.”
Following Smith's legal process, he was critical of both Youngkin and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. Smith said he hadn't heard from either of the politicians since they won their elections, both of whom used his name and story feverishly during their respective campaigns.
In an interview with "Fox News Sunday" this morning, Youngkin said he spoke to Smith on Friday — just days ahead of the governor's latest "Parents Matter" rally, scheduled for Tuesday in Leesburg.
The attorneys for the Loudoun County father addressed the pardon in a release that included Smith's statement, which reads in part:
"My family has been living a nightmare that no family in America should have to endure. But rather than sit quietly and take it, I decided to stand up against the government - and for that I was branded a "domestic terrorist" and charged with crimes that I did not commit. I want to thank Governor Youngkin for his declaration that I am innocent, and for his absolute and unconditional pardon."
Smith also spoke to reporters on Sunday.
"My wife, she's exhausted. She's the brains behind the whole operation. I'm the muscle; she's the brains. My daughter, you know, she's been constantly bullied and berated by her peers," he said. "But she's as strong as I am. She has her good weeks and has a couple bad days in between, but you know, she graduated from high school. She's looking forward to the future."
A grand jury issued a scathing report in December about the school system's handling of the sexual assaults, saying that the second assault could have been avoided.
The report indicated there wasn't any evidence the school district's administration or board engaged in an organized cover-up of the sexual assaults, as some had speculated.
The grand jury brought indictments against former Superintendent Scott Ziegler and spokesman Wayde Byard. Byard was acquitted of the charge against him, Ziegler's cases go to trial later this month.

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

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This school district has made the news over several very alarming reasons over the years. Seems like they're the epicenter of evil for public schools.

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