Students walked out of classes at schools across Loudoun County, Va., on Tuesday in solidarity with victims of sexual assault in response to two recent incidents in the school district, Fox 5 D.C. reported.
On Monday, a judge found a teenage suspect guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in a bathroom at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn in May, according to The Washington Post.
The same perpetrator allegedly assaulted a student at Broad Run High School in Ashburn on Oct. 6, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The judge said sentencing over the May incident would depend on the outcome of that case.
The walkouts were also in protest of what some students say are unsafe conditions in the schools where the assaults happened, according to ABC13.
WUSA9 obtained a flyer encouraging students across the county to wear white and join the 10-minute walkouts.
The principal of Loudoun County High School, Michelle Luttrell, said the school was aware of the walkout and told WUSA9 that students would not be penalized for participating.
“However, we do ask that students who participate do so peacefully, without signage, and in accordance with the Students Rights and Responsibilities we all reviewed and signed at the beginning of the year,” Luttrell said.
At Broad Run High School, where the October attack allegedly occurred, dozens of students were shown outside the entrance in a video shared on Twitter by a reporter from NBC Washington. The reporter tweeted that the students were chanting, “Loudoun County protects rapists.”
The case has generated significant public attention, with Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin having previously called for an investigation into the Loudoun County School Board over the sexual assault allegations.
“They had a duty of care, and they failed,” Youngkin said during a speech in Burke.
“As a father, I am ignited by an unwavering resolve to not just fix this but to hold those who have failed our children accountable,” he added.