[Updated 9 p.m.] A Prince William County middle school student’s parents seek answers after their daughter was inappropriately touched in school.
Jeffery Darr held back tears at a county School Board meeting on Wednesday, January 19, as he pressed elected officials to respond on what was being done to protect students.
“Does anybody have answers to how this process works? I want to know. I want the public to know,” said Darr.
According to the student’s mother, Becky Darr, who communicated with us over text message, her 13-year-old daughter was on a field trip to the planetarium at C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge on November 9, 2021.
A boy rubbed the girl’s crotch, and she got up from her seat, ran from the planetarium, and called her dad to come to pick her up from the high school, states Becky Darr.
After reporting the incident to the middle school principal, administrators moved the boy to a new science class, she adds. The victim’s parents talked to the police and are now pushing to have the child suspended from school.
According to Becky Darr, police didn’t want to press criminal charges.
“…they don’t like to pursue criminal charges against kids because it stays with them throughout their life. As if saying they don’t want to hurt the boy’s record. They didn’t care for my daughter’s future,” said Becky Darr.
However, police tell us they filed an assault charge against the child this case. The Commonwealth Attorney decided to handle the case on an “unofficial” basis, meaning the child will not appear before a judge.
School division sources tell PLN they are aware of the incident and have worked with the family to address what will likely become a legal matter. A division spokeswoman says the it takes sexual assault allegations seriously.
“Prince William County Public Schools 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,” said spokeswoman Diana Gulotta.
According to Gulotta, the division learned of the incident on the day it occurred.
“Every student deserves to feel safe in our schools. As a member of the Prince William County School Board, I take all matters of student safety extremely seriously,” states Gainesville District School Board representative Jennifer Wall in a Facebook post.
The incident comes after Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a sweeping investigation of the public school division in neighboring Loudoun County, where a two girls were raped by a 15-year-old transgender student in a high school bathrooms in separate incidents.
On Wednesday, January 19, several news sources reported the school division’s chief of staff, who serves under Superintendent Dr. Scott Ziegler, no longer works for the government school division.
