Loudoun County School Bathroom Assault (2021)

Loudoun County School Bathroom Assault (2021) — A male student sexually assaulted a teenage girl in a girls' bathroom at Stone Bridge High School; the school board's handling of the incident sparked a national controversy.

Summary

On May 28, 2021, a student at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in a girls' bathroom. The student, later identified as Zion Heckel, was a ninth grader. Fox 5 DC and other outlets reported Heckel was wearing a skirt at the time, though a subsequent independent investigation commissioned by the school division found conflicting accounts regarding this detail. The victim's father, Scott Smith, alleged that school officials discouraged the family from speaking publicly about the assault.

Following the first assault, Heckel was transferred to Broad Run High School rather than being removed from the school system. In October 2021, Heckel committed a second sexual assault at the new school. Both assaults were prosecuted and Heckel was subsequently convicted on multiple charges.

Scott Smith attended a Loudoun County School Board meeting on June 22, 2021, which was focused in part on a proposed transgender student bathroom policy (Policy 8040). When he attempted to speak about his daughter's assault, he was removed by police and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice. Smith was convicted in August 2021. Governor Glenn Youngkin granted Smith an absolute pardon in September 2023, stating he had been "wrongfully prosecuted." In October 2023, the family filed a $30 million Title IX lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools alleging the district failed to protect the victim and attempted to silence the family.

Key Details

Date: May 28, 2021 (first assault); October 2021 (second assault); June 22, 2021 (Scott Smith arrest)
Location: Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn, Virginia; Broad Run High School, Ashburn, Virginia
Key People: Zion Heckel (student/perpetrator); Scott Smith (victim's father); Superintendent Scott Ziegler; Governor Glenn Youngkin
Outcome: Heckel convicted on multiple sexual assault charges; Scott Smith pardoned by Governor Youngkin (September 2023); $30 million Title IX lawsuit filed against LCPS (October 2023); independent investigation found no evidence of deliberate school board cover-up but confirmed failures in communication

Loudoun County School Bathroom Assault (2021)

Summary

Key Details

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