warning-this post talks about sexual assault. if you are sensitive to reading about rape or sexual assault, specifically involving minors, please use discretion.

my teacher mentioned today that a gender-fluid student raped a girl in school and the superintendent covered it up. i started google searching as soon as i got home and yes, she was right. well, not quite. you see, many of the details of the story are quite confused. ill include a little tl;dr at the bottom, but i would like to encourage you to do your own research and come to your own conclusion. i dont think theres any need for me to give a synopsis as there has been plenty of research by qualified people, so ill put some links down there

the official report from the special grand jury in the investigation of the school system (louden county)

report

a report from washington blade, a pro-LGBTQ+  news source:

this report focuses on the identity of the assailant

a report from 4w, a "gender-conservative" feminist news source:

focuses more on the transgender policies and the political motivations for the coverup

tl;dr: the assailant  was approx. 15 yrs old. according to his mother, the assailant was heterosexual and cisgender. the assailant had a history of "crossdressing". assailant also had many disciplinary issues, both sexual and non-sexual (fighting, for example). the assailant went to stone bridge originally and the assailant had had sexual intercourse with the first victim twice before (according to the mother). i believe the court documents disagree/do not specify. that however has no real bearing, as the assailant still sexually assaulted her two/three times in the school bathroom. fast forward some gross negligence/intentional cover-up from the school, the assailant enrolls at a different school with a really stupid name (broad run). only a couple of days into the school year and the assailant had had multiple complaints about stalking and sexual harassment. later that school year, he pulled a girl from the hallway into an empty classroom and allegedly almost asphyxiated her due to a chokehold he had on her while he sexually assaulted her. he was put in custody that day. he will be put on the sex offenders registry when he turns 18, and will spend 3 years in some sort of therapy course. (its kinda like a mental hospital im guessing, cant really leave).

    what he did was horrible. the psychologists who examined him said he was extremely disturbed. he would be behind bars, but the mother of one of the victims wanted him to stay out of juvenile detention. while i cant find it in me currently to forgive him, i hope one day i can have enough love and compassion as that mother.

i hope all of the victims can find healing.

    -emily