The mother of one of the male Virginia high school students accused of sexually harassing a biological female in the boys’ locker room is worried that the “unfounded” investigation into her son will tarnish his reputation and make it difficult for him to get into college. 

A Title IX investigation was launched in March after a biological female student, who identifies as male, entered the boys’ locker room at Stone Bridge High School and filmed three male students who expressed discomfort with her presence.

The school district, Loudoun County Public Schools, later launched an investigation into the male students amid allegations they sexually harassed and threatened the female student. The video that was taken by the female student, and released by the local sheriff’s office, does not show the male students making derogatory or threatening comments.

The mother of one of the boys, Renae Smith, told the Sun she is concerned that the “unfounded complaints” — and the unusual nature of them — could harm her son’s ability to get into colleges. 

“As far as the future, I’m very concerned,” she said. “When you hear somebody was charged with sexual harassment for, you know, a girl being in the [boys’] locker room, it doesn’t make a lot of sense logically, so people say, ‘That doesn’t make sense. Something else must’ve happened, and so, of course, rumors spread, and that affects his reputation.”

She noted that colleges most likely will not look at the “context” of why someone was found responsible for sexual harassment. 

Even if the students are cleared of the charges, Ms. Smith expressed concern that that may not be the end of the saga. 

“If this does get resolved in our favor, I don’t feel confident that they’re not going to be out for blood,” she said. “This whole incident has really opened my eyes to a lot of the past from this school…I’ve lost complete confidence in LCPS.”

Ms. Smith said the “majority of people” they’ve heard from have been supportive of her son, but that “doesn’t negate the seriousness” of the situation, and she said her son is “anxious and distracted” and feels targeted by the investigation.

“Imagine being 15 or 16 and knowing that if you speak your mind, even respectfully, you can be labeled a harasser or get expelled,” she said. “It’s really affected his focus [and] his confidence in adults who are supposed to protect him.”

Loudoun County Public Schools has declined to comment on what portion of the video allegedly constituted sexual harassment. However, the school district has insisted that the public is not getting the full story. The chairwoman of LCPS, Melinda Mansfield, said in a statement, “Some individuals, media outlets, and political groups seem to be exploiting this situation without full knowledge of, or knowingly misrepresenting the facts, using it to advance their own agendas. I strongly condemn the politicization of student safety.”

Ms. Mansfield also told Newsweek it is “untrue” that the students are being disciplined under Title IX rules.

Ms. Smith called the school’s public comments “heartbreaking” and “disappointing to see.”

The saga has attracted the attention of Governor Youngkin, and the state’s attorney general, Jason Miyares, whose office investigated LCPS over the Title IX investigation and found that the probe represents a “disturbing misuse of authority.”

Mr. Miyares’ investigation found that the female student, identified as Student A, alleged the male students made “disparaging comments and physical threats.” The female student also accused the male students of “misgendering” her — or not using her preferred pronouns — despite a lack of such comments in the video.

The attorney general’s report said it was unable to find “any outside corroboration” of the claim that the male students made threats or harassing comments. Additionally, the report indicated that there may have been “exculpatory” evidence that was deleted. 

According to the report, school officials notified the parents of a fourth student that their son was recorded on a second, separate video and that he might be interviewed as a witness in the case against the three other students. However, when the fourth student’s parents asked to see the video, they were reportedly informed by the school, “Don’t worry, it’s already deleted.” The attorney general criticized LCPS for allegedly deleting potentially “exculpatory evidence” that could have ‘diminished the credibility of the investigation. He said the school district did not respond to his office’s question about the allegation it deleted evidence. 

In interviews with the school’s Title IX coordinator, the male students denied making disparaging remarks but admitted to asking why a female was in the boys’ locker room. One of the students admitted to previously using female pronouns while talking about Student A instead of her preferred male pronouns. 

Mr. Miyares’ investigation also found that the March incident was not the only time the school had investigated one of the students for expressing discomfort with a female using the boys’ locker room. According to the attorney general, a female student who “outwardly presents as female and identifies as male” started using the boys’ locker room around September 2023.  

Around October 2024, one of the male students — now under investigation from the March incident — told his friends he was “uncomfortable sharing the boys’ locker room with a girl.” Eventually, a few days later, the student was taken out of a class to meet with the assistant principal and was told that “somebody alerted” the school that he was uncomfortable with a “transgender student” in the locker room. 

The student informed the administrators that because of his Christian faith, he believes there are only two genders and that only biological males belong in the boys’ locker room. However, he was told that due to the school’s 8040 policy, students are allowed to use the bathroom or locker room that aligns with their gender identity. The boy’s parents were eventually notified that a Title IX complaint had been filed but that he was not in trouble because the complaint was “unsubstantiated,” and that investigation ended.

Mr. Miyares’ report states that Student A “previously filed a false or unfounded Title IX complaint” against two of the students under investigation for the March locker room encounter. And questioned LCPS’ ability to detect false complaints.

Mr. Miyares said he is referring the investigation of the three male students to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

In a press release, Mr. Miyares said an investigation by his office uncovered a “disturbing misuse of authority by Loudoun County Public Schools, where students appear to have been targeted not for misconduct, but for expressing their discomfort for being forced to share a locker room with a member of the opposite sex.”

Ms. Smith told the Sun that Mr. Miyares’ report “really validates everything we’ve been feeling as a family…the report clearly shows that the real violation was against our boys who were recorded in the locker room.”

 “This is an inclusion thing, and I think people are quick to jump on this oppressed versus oppressors agenda, and that’s not it at all. LCPS has failed every single one of these children, including the complainant. And I just wanna say, inclusion should never come at the cost of someone else’s dignity and your religious freedom.”

A spokesman for LCPS, Dan Adams, did not address the allegations from the attorney general’s report but criticized the investigation in a statement to the Sun, saying, “First and foremost, LCPS continues to focus on following applicable law and ensuring all students are safe. LCPS is not in a position to provide comment on the Attorney General’s investigation or its purported findings at this time.”

Mr. Adams said the school district has “never received any official communication” besides “press releases and media coverage” that an investigation had been launched. He also said the school district was not “provided an opportunity to meaningfully participate in any such investigation.”

Mr. Youngkin thanked the attorney general for his “quick and thorough work” and said LCPS “was unlawfully and discriminatorily retaliating against students who express religious objections” to the school’s policies.