Loudoun County voters first elected Buta Biberaj as their commonwealth’s attorney in 2019. She won on a platform that emphasized avoiding incarcerating criminals. Despite that, Biberjai sought to jail Scott Smith for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest at a Loudoun County School Board meeting.
As the county’s top prosecutor, Biberaj knew about the sexual assault case involving Smith’s daughter. She presumably would understand why Smith got upset that day. Yet she argued for jailing Smith anyway. Biberaj also pushed for a fine and anger management classes, even though Smith only faced two misdemeanors.
Evidence of Anti-Conservative Bias?
On the surface, that prosecution conflicts with Biberaj’s “progressive” rhetoric. In fact, during her campaign for commonwealth’s attorney, Biberaj received $860,000 from a George Soros-led PAC. With a robust war chest, Biberaj became one of several Soros-backed prosecutors elected in Northern Virginia in 2019, as part of his campaign to quietly overhaul the American justice system.
Meanwhile, Scott Smith’s attendance and outburst at the June 22 meeting came less than one month after a 15-year-old boy allegedly assaulted his 15-year-old daughter in the women’s restroom at Stone Bridge High School. Smith became distraught after the district superintendent claimed the suspect didn’t exist and a parent activist ridiculed him. In response, he raised his voice and uttered a derogatory comment. A scuffle with police then broke out. Scott and his wife, Jessica, reportedly attended the meeting to “find out why our children were not safe.”
A photograph of Scott, handcuffed and bloodied, subsequently went viral. Some liberal activists used it to accuse right-wingers of threatening school administrators.
A judge later sentenced Smith to 10 days in jail, all suspended but contingent on one year of good behavior. Smith has indicated he will appeal the ruling.
Since the story of the Smiths’ plight has emerged, the Loudoun County’s Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it determined a sexual assault occurred at Stone Bridge High School on the day their daughter was attacked. The sheriff’s office could not provide any documentation on a pending case involving juveniles.
Repeat Alleged Assaults
Biberaj declined to jail the student at the time. Instead, he got fitted with an ankle monitor and transferred to another school. On Oct. 6, the same student allegedly forced a classmate into an empty room and groped her. The suspect is now awaiting trial in a juvenile detention center.
When asked to explain herself, Biberaj said, “We believed based on the facts that he had no history of having done this prior to this offense that was alleged.”
Fox 5 continues:
She said because of that, there was a belief it was unlikely he would re-offend. She said her office consulted with the family of the victim and the office of probation about the decision.
She said the judge agreed with the recommendation.
“I would ask this: for people to be patient because as we know what sometimes is reported initially is not then what the end result of all the facts are,” said Biberaj.
Insufficient Procedures
A spokesperson for LCPS said he wasn’t able to reveal if the principal and other administrators at the student’s new school, Broad Run High School, knew of the charges when he started classes there.
This isn’t the first time Biberaj has come under scrutiny for her views on sentencing guidelines. It came to light this summer that she dismissed hundreds of domestic violence charges after a local man out on bond murdered his wife with a hammer.
Besides fighting to end pre-trial detention and over-incarceration, Biberaj has campaigned on behalf of Terry McAuliffe in this year’s governor’s race. But pursuing responsible criminal justice reforms doesn’t mean every offender deserves a slap on the wrist while others receive excessive charges.
Some common sense would be nice.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Republican Standard.