The parent who was detained at a school board meeting after the superintendent made up a false story about his daughter being raped by a boy wearing a skirt was reportedly given a “absolute pardon” by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on Sunday.
Smith’s account inspired parents who were worried that schools had compromised academic rigor and student safety for ideology.
Democratic prosecutor Buta Biberaj deviated from her customary lenient attitudes toward criminal activity and personally campaigned for Smith’s imprisonment for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Because it was a misdemeanor in General District Court, Smith was deprived of a jury, and a judge immediately found him guilty.
In the appeals court, he would have been eligible for a jury if he had appealed the decision.
However, the protracted court battle has cost Smith money and emotional distress; he is thankful Youngkin enabled him to go on.
“WHEREAS Scott Thomas Smith has been publicly and falsely accused of ‘domestic terrorism’ and ‘hate crimes’ for attempting to advocate for his daughter, a victim of sexual assault… I have decided it is just and appropriate to grant this ABSOLUTE PARDON that reflects Scott Thomas Smith’s factual innocence,” the pardon read.
As Smith’s court battle stretched on, Wayde Byard, a spokeswoman for Loudoun County Public Schools, was cleared of perjury charges by the same system that Smith was charged under.
On the day Smith’s daughter was violated, Byard sent parents an email in which she erroneously blamed Smith for the presence of the police and claimed that no pupils were in risk while the rapist was still at large.
Even though the rapist was ultimately found guilty in juvenile court, Biberaj made a mistake that prevented him from being added to the list of sex offenders.
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