Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson found not guilty of perjury

Suspended spokesman of Loudoun County Public Schools, Wayde Byard, was found not guilty of perjury on Thursday in a case related to the coverup of the bathroom sexual assault that occurred at a high school in Northern Virginia. 

Byard was accused of lying to a grand jury when he said that he didn’t learn of the bathroom rape that took place on May 28, 2021 until months later. The jury deliberated for about an hour and a half before reaching the verdict, The Daily Wire reports. 

He told the media outside of court after the verdict that he may not return to working as the LCPS spokesman.

“I’m going to talk to people next week,” he told the press. “LCPS is still my work family, has been for 23 years, so we’ll talk about that later.”

In October 2021, a student who was 15 at the time was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two female students at two separate high schools in the area.

According to local news station WUSA, the first assault was reported on May 28, 2021, at Stone Bridge High School, while another one allegedly occurred on Oct. 8 of that year at Broad Run High School.

The parent of one of the alleged victims was arrested at a school board meeting, where he shouted at officials for not doing more to protect his daughter.

Byard and former LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler were indicted by a special grand jury in 2021 after an investigation occurred into how LCPS handled sexual assaults.

The jury was faced with contradictory statements and faulty memories about who knew what and when.

The special grand jury was initiated by Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares.