In what feels like an increasingly rare moment of sanity, a former Loudoun County superintendent has been found guilty of retaliation. That came as part of his attempt to cover up the rape of a young girl by a boy in a dress. 

Scott Ziegler now faces up to a year in prison as well as the associated fines.

A jury of six women and one man on Friday found ex-Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler guilty of using his position to retaliate against a teacher for cooperating with a grand jury investigating how the district handled sexual assault.

After a four-day trial plus a day of deliberations, the jury found that Ziegler wrongfully fired a teacher who had disclosed to Virginia investigators about mishandling of sexual assault in her classroom. Ziegler was convicted of using his official position to retaliate against someone for exercising their rights, and acquitted of punishing someone for testifying to a jury, both misdemeanors.

The background of the situation revolves around the rape of a female student by a boy in a dress that occurred in 2021. The boy was allowed to be in the girls' bathroom because of a then recently enacted school district policy meant to apply to transgender students. 

Fearing the blowback, multiple school board officials allegedly worked to cover up the rape. That push culminated in the arrest and charging of Scott Smith, the father of the raped girl, after he tried to demand accountability at a school board meeting. Smith was eventually pardoned by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

Ziegler ended up in legal trouble after he fired a special education teacher for sharing details of the rape with a grand jury, a move most perceived as furthering the cover-up. The teacher was also accused of giving the information to a conservative activist, but that was found to be false. 

While we don't know what Zeigler's punishment will ultimately be, this is a strong step toward accountability in the world of education. For too long, there has been zero fear among school district officials when it comes to respecting the wishes and rights of parents. To cover up rape in order to protect far-left dogma regarding transgenderism was objectively insane. Hopefully, this serves as a deterrent to other officials who may attempt the same. 

Lastly, this is another big win for Youngkin as Republicans head into a crucial off-year election in Virginia. The governor came into office promising that he would investigate the matter, and now that investigation has provided some semblance of justice. That's a good reminder of why elections matter.