Within hours of being sworn in as Virginia’s new attorney general, Jason Miyares has announced investigations into the Virginia Parole Board and Loudoun County Public Schools, citing public demand for transparency and accountability in the wake of what he described as scandals and their “horrific aftermath.”
Miyares, who was sworn in on Jan. 15, said in a statement that one of the probes relates to the Virginia Parole Board’s alleged illegal actions in connection with the early release of individuals responsible for a range of crimes, including murder.
“The Virginia Parole Board broke the law when they let out murderers, rapists, and cop killers early on their sentences without notifying the victims,” Miyares said.
One of the cases pertained to the freeing of parolee Vincent Martin, who was sentenced to life behind bars for the 1979 murder of police officer Michael Connors during a traffic stop.
In 2020, Virginia’s Office of the State Inspector General issued a report (pdf) finding that the parole board skirted procedures in freeing Martin.
The report noted, among other findings, that the Virginia Parole Board declined to hear from several people with concerns about releasing Martin and that it did not “endeavor diligently” to contact the slain officer’s family, as required by law, precluding the family from having a chance to provide their input.
Shortly after the release of the report, one of the sisters of the slain officer called its findings “horrific” and “devastating.”
The other probe relates to an incident involving a sexual assault on school grounds that Miyares alleged was covered up by Loudoun County Public Schools for “political gain,” which led to “an additional assault of a young girl.”
Paving the way for the launch of the probes were two executive orders signed by newly-minted Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican.
Youngkin said in one of the orders that, in 2021, Loudoun County Public Schools was made aware of a sexual assault that took place at a district high school, with a decision made to transfer the assailant to another Loudoun County school, “where the student was able to commit a second sexual assault.”
Both Loudoun County Public Schools and school administrators “withheld key details and knowingly lied to parents about the assaults,” Youngkin said, adding that no one has been held accountable.
Neither the Virginia Parole Board nor the Loudoun County Public Schools immediately responded to a request for comment from The Epoch Times on Miyares’s announcement of the probes.
“Virginians have dealt with the horrific aftermath of these scandals, without understanding how or why they were able to happen,” Miyares said.
From The Epoch Times
http://www.ntd.com/virginias-new-ag-launches-probes-into-parole-board-and-loudoun-county-public-schools_728215.html?
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