LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — A jury acquitted the public information officer of Loudoun County Public Schools who was accused of lying to a special grand jury.
Jurors delivered the not-guilty verdict for Wayde Byard late Thursday afternoon, hours after his lawyer and the prosecution delivered their closing arguments in his perjury case.
Byard’s attorney, Jennifer Leffler, said her client had been made the “fall guy” for the school administration.
“The first day we met, she said ‘you’re innocent and I will prove it.’ And she was good to her word,” Byard said outside of the courthouse following the verdict reading.
Prosecutors said Byard lied about when he found out about the first of two sexual assaults that took place in division high schools.
The first assault took place on May 28, 2021, at Stone Bridge High School, and the second happened on October 6, 2021, at Broad Run High School. Investigators said the same student was responsible for both attacks.
The day of the first assault, the victim’s father showed up at Stone Bridge High School, causing a disturbance and prompting a deputy response.
Byard and the communications team handled the crafting of a message to the school community that day. The notification included information about the disturbance but made no mention of the assault.
Principal Timothy Flynn said on the stand that on the day of the occurrence, he’d told Byard about both the sexual assault allegations and the incident with the father. Byard told the grand jury that he didn’t know about the assault until months later.
“What exactly Tim Flynn said, I’m not going to say what he said was incorrect, I don’t know,” Byard said after the trial. “There was a disturbance and that was the problem.”
“Maybe I forgot things Tim said to me, I have nothing against Timothy Flynn,” he said.
Among those who took the stand on Thursday were members of the Loudoun County Public Schools’ communications team and Byard’s wife. They testified they did not hear Byard discuss the sexual assault that happened on May 28 until October.
By returning its verdict, the jury found that the prosecution failed to prove its claim that Byard lied, and, therefore, failed to make its case against him.
The grand jury’s report led the school board to put Byard on leave and to fire Dr. Scott Ziegler, who served as the division’s superintendent. The grand jury indicted Ziegler on three charges.
Byard said he and his wife Brenda used their life savings to pay for his defense, as he went without pay for months while on leave. Now, the division must pay him for those months. As for a return to his post, Byard said he’s unsure about his future with LCPS.
“LCPS is my work family. Has been for 23 years. So we’ll talk about that later,” he said.
“The Special Grand Jury indicted Mr. Byard after hearing all of the evidence, and we are proud that the Judge agreed with us time and time again that this case needed to be heard in front of a jury. Lying under oath undermines our justice system and must be taken seriously. While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision, we’re proud of our team for uncovering the truth and providing answers to concerned Virginia parents.” said Attorney General Miyares’ spokesperson Victoria LaCivita.
