School Board Chairman issues statement after father shines light on daughter’s sexual assault

The Prince William County School Board Chairman is speaking out a day after we reported police charged a middle school student with assault after a girl in his class told her parents he inappropriately touched her.

Jeffery Darr, the girl’s father, spoke during citizen’s time during the School Board meeting Wednesday, January 19, and said the boy touched his daughter over the clothes. During his speech, he said authorities within the school division told him they did not consider what happened to his daughter’s sexual assault because the touching occurred over clothes.

However, police charged the teenager with assault. The county’s commonwealth attorney decided to deal with the case unofficial, meaning the child would not appear before a judge, police explained.

The assault occurred on November 9 while the students were on a field trip to the C.D. Hylton High School Planetarium in Woodbridge, the victim’s mother said. The boy touched the girl in her crotch, she added.

School Board Chairman Dr. Babur Lateef reiterated the school division’s position that all sexual assault allegations are taken seriously and issued this statement:

During our School Board meeting on January 19, a concerned father addressed the School Board during Citizen Comment time with questions about the way a situation had been handled by the School Division. Citizen Comment time is not structured to allow for the School Board to address a citizen’s questions immediately. Unfortunately, this has created the perception that I was dismissive of this father’s concerns. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a parent myself, with a daughter in the school system as well, I fully empathize with this father’s anguish and concern. Staff are available at School Board meetings to assist in supporting parents with questions, and in this situation, a staff member was able to talk to this parent immediately at the meeting.

Please know that PWCS takes any act of sexual assault or violence seriously and such acts will not be tolerated. PWCS has specific procedures and highly trained personnel to assist students and parents in resolving claims that involve certain forms of unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature as required by Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. I encourage anyone who has experienced unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature to report it immediately to 703-791-8595 or [email protected] or through our anonymous tip line at 1-844-5-SAYNOW.

School administration learned of this incident on the day it is alleged to have occurred and notified law enforcement. According to the police department, an assault charge was obtained, and this matter was handled through juvenile court services. The PWCS Title IX office has taken action to investigate the allegations and to offer supportive measures consistent with legal requirements. That process is still ongoing. For student privacy reasons, we cannot share information about the alleged incident, the investigation, or any findings, discipline or other actions that may result. PWCS administrators are working with the family of the complainant to respond to their concerns.