Ziegler sentencing postponed a third time

By Audrey Carpenter

Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Douglas J. Fleming Jr. postponed sentencing in the Scott Ziegler case Jan. 18 to take more time to review each of the attorneys’ motions and arguments. Sentencing was postponed two times previously, on Jan. 4 and Jan. 11.

Zielger is the former Loudoun County Public School Superintendent found guilty Sept. 29, 2023 of retaliation against special education teacher Erin Brooks who worked at Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School in Ashburn. The charges stemmed from Ziegler’s decision not to renew the teacher’s contract at the end of the 2022 school year after she testified against the school system in a special grand jury about how the district handled complaints about a student inappropriately touching her, her aide and a substitute teacher.

Ziegler was also fired by the school board in December 2022 after a special grand jury report detailed how Loudoun County Public Schools mishandled school sexual assaults.

The retaliation case centered on Ziegler removing the special education teacher to “send a signal” to other school teachers and administrators that they should not speak out against the school system at a time when the school system was under intense scrutiny for how it handled sexual assault complaints.

Though Ziegler was convicted in September’s jury trial, his lawyer, Erin Harrigan, filed a motion to set aside the verdict arguing there’s no precedence on how to punish for the offense under Virginia General Assembly guidelines because the charge Ziegler was found guilty of has never been tried in the Commonwealth and the General Assembly does not specify a punishment for the crime.

There were also arguments regarding jury instruction on determining intent. Lawyers on both sides of the case argued whether Ziegler knowingly intended to commit retaliation. Special Assistant to the Attorney General Brandon Wrobleski said he did. Ziegler’s attorney argued he didn’t.

Judge Fleming said the arguments from attorneys on both sides of the case were compelling and he needed to do further research before rendering a decision about sentencing. Ziegler faces up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

Scott and Jessica Smith, parents of one of the students assaulted, were in court. Mrs. Smith spoke to the Blue Ridge Leader and said her family is still dealing with the aftermath of their daughter’s experience. Their daughter was severely bullied in school by other students after the assault and ultimately had to drop out of Stone Bridge High School. She did not graduate with her class, instead earning her GED, Smith said. Their daughter is their sole child.

Asked if the new superintendent who replaced Ziegler and the election of all nine new school board members helped to ease their feelings about the school system, Mrs. Smith said, “No, because there are a lot of administrators still in place that should be gone too.”

The Smiths own Plumb Crazy Plumbing company in Leesburg and started a website: https://smithfamilyloudouncounty.com/

In October 2023, they filed a $30 million Title IX federal lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools alleging it failed to keep their daughter safe, did not conduct a timely Title IX investigation and covered up their daughter’s sexual assault, which occurred in a school bathroom.