Former Loudoun County spokesperson Wayne Byard retires months after resuming post following perjury trial
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - Longtime Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson Wayne Byard has retired, LCPS confirmed to FOX 5 Thursday.
Byard ended his time with the school district following months of controversy and a perjury trial that ended with his acquittal.
Byard returned to his job in July after he had been charged with perjury following two sexual assaults committed by the same student at two different Loudoun County schools.
He was accused of lying about the two high-profile cases that set off a firestorm in the Loudoun County community.
The perjury case against Byard was the result of a special grand jury investigation commissioned by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares that examined the school system's handling of the two sexual assaults.
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The cases brought national attention to the county and caused an uproar as parents demanded details on how the student accused in the assaults was allowed to transfer to another school after the first attack.
Another controversial element of the case was that the boy was wearing a skirt when he committed the first attack in a school bathroom.
At the time the county was considering a policy change to allow transgender students to use the restroom of their choice.
Byard told the grand jury that he only became aware that the allegations involved unwanted sexual contact after the second assault occurred at Broad Run High School in October 2021.
After Byard was found not guilty, he returned to the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building as a communications specialist.
According to LCPS, he retired on Dec. 15. They did not offer additional comment.
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