School Administrator Targeted In Virginia’s Probe Acquitted Of A Perjury Charge

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — A jury on Thursday acquitted a longtime spokesperson for the Northern Virginia school system on perjury charges into two school-related sexual assaults.

Perjury ( Photo: Shouse Law )

The case stems from an investigation into the Loudoun County school system’s handling of two campus rapes involving the same attacker in 2021

The jury spent about two hours deliberating before acquitting Wayde Byard, Loudoun County Public Schools Office of Public Information, of a single charge of perjury filed by a special grand jury against him. The perjury case is the first prosecution brought as a result of a special investigation, authorized by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares at the request of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The grand jury considered the school system’s handling of two sexual assault cases at two different high schools in 2021

Youngkin made the assault a key part of his successful gubernatorial run that year, issuing an executive order calling for an investigation on his first day in office. This assault received a great deal of attention because not only was the male student who perpetrated the assault allowed to transfer schools after the first assault, but he was wearing a skirt during the first assault in the school restroom. At the time, the district was considering changing its policy to allow transgender students to use any restroom of their choice.

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