(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An ongoing scandal involving allegations that a transgender student secretly filmed or photographed fellow students in school bathrooms has formally drawn the attention of the Trump administration.
The Department of Education announced Wednesday that it is specifically looking into Loudoun County Public Schools after WJLA-TV reported that a transgender student at Freedom High School may have secretly recorded or photographed classmates inside a school bathroom.
The federal probe will examine whether the LCPS violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by failing to “prevent and properly redress allegations of sexual harassment,” the agency said in a press release.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey criticized the district’s handling of the allegations, pointing to LCPS’s long history of controversies.
“Loudoun County – yet again – appears to demonstrate its profound dereliction of responsibility to protect its students’ privacy and dignity,” Richey said.
She added: “After repeatedly subjecting its minor students to the presence of members of the opposite sex in their intimate facilities, Loudoun reportedly stood idly by while an individual repeatedly recorded students, including minors, while undressed and using the restroom.”
WJLA-TV reported that the student may have recorded as many as 40 individuals, primarily male students, over a period of more than three years. The report also indicated school officials may have been aware of the allegations for longer than previously disclosed.
Principal Tania Brown notified parents of the incident in April. A subsequent email in May suggested that the conduct may not have been isolated, according to WJLA-TV.
The federal probe is being led by the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education, while the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a separate criminal investigation.
Headline USA spoke with a sheriff’s office deputy on Wednesday evening, though he declined to comment on the record. He referred inquiries to a spokesperson; a response is pending.
Loudoun County previously gained national attention after a male student was accused of sexually assaulting a female student in 2021. That same perpetrator went on to commit a separate assault in October 2021 at a different school.
He was found guilty on the first incident and pleaded no contest to the second.
This incident, along with broader protests over transgender-related school policies, has been cited as a major factor in the 2021 election of now-former Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
