Shocking emails dating from September 5, 2024 through April 1, 2020, detailing allegations of abuse by a Fauquier county, Virginia Public Schools’ teacher of special education. Social services did not investigate these allegations, which included many sexual ones. The whistleblower, who made them, was fired by the school division.

A special education teacher assistant reported to the principal alleged abuse by staff members of students. The abuse continued, despite the fact that it was not reported. After the teacher’s aide followed up on complaints, a few month later, she was placed on administrative leave. Her contract was not renewed. The accused is still in the classroom and it seems that social services did not open an investigation.

The whistleblower reported to the principal in September 2024 that a teacher had abused special education students who were profoundly disabled. According to reports, the accused encouraged a special education student to masturbate.

The principal was notified of these concerns via email, on September 24, 2024.

• She sleeps on a beanbag [with children present] when she is not feeling well.
• Multiple staff members, including outside services, were informed that her vaginal bone was broken
• Students present at general education classes are encouraged to encourage student masturbation by saying “rub it, Rub it” and making jokes about it.
• Was looking up dildos in school, and was talking about the sexlife.

The principal responded that he had contacted members of the central office but the teacher never was removed. No notification was made to the child protective services.

The same whistleblower reported this exchange in PE three days earlier to the principal on Sept. 30, 2024. In response to student 2, the accused teacher told student 1 “Don’t pretend you don’t rub your privates at home.” Student 1 left, telling student 2 to “Come on, don’t do it.” The accused teacher then told student 2 “to rub it out.”

The whistleblower reported on the same day that, although two students were sick with diarrhea, they never informed the school nurse.

According to reports, general education students hang out with special education students in their classrooms and engage in social conversations that include cursing the special students in front of them.

Despite these reports, the teacher accused was not dismissed. A second report was made to the principal in March 2025, which raised even more concerns about this teacher.

• Inappropriate Conversations : [Teachers] have had ongoing conversations with some students that are of a disturbing nature. These include discussions on sexual acts and alcohol consumption.
• Bathroom privacy: On more than one occasion, general education students were allowed to enter the restroom while a [special ed] classmate was using the toilet.
• Some students in general education are allowed to sleep inside the classroom when they feel unwell.

According to reports, the principal acknowledged the concerns of the whistleblower by saying “It’s not gotten better?” It’s evident that everyone knew about the allegations. The superintendent, other leaders and the whistleblower were all copied in the email chain. Unknown is if these individuals reported their concerns to the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Other witnesses who corroborate these allegations have not been interviewed by DSS.

It is a shame that the parents of vulnerable children were not informed of the allegations.

Lack Of Investigation Fails Students

The whistleblower, who had not received contact from DSS to report abuse by the school system, contacted them directly to do so on April 2, after it was apparent that the school system hadn’t done so. The whistleblower sent this text to the DSS employee, who admitted that the complaint had not been investigated by DSS.

Crystal Hale, the Director of Social Services at Fauquier, to ask why this case was not investigated. No response was received.

Fauquier school teacher who said she never received any instructions on how to report child abuse or neglect. She never saw any posters or signs on the subject. She said that she never received any training or information on how to report abuse. She tried to document events and take notes to convince administrators to believe her. But she was ultimately let go because she took pictures to record the abuse.

Fauquier County Schools not only punished the whistleblower, a possible violation of law, but the policies of the school board on this topic are also a catastrophe.

Virginia law requires that every school board post an announcement in each school explaining how employees can report suspected child neglect or abuse to DSS agencies. This notice must also contain information about the legal protections available to those who report child abuse, as well as the Virginia Department of Social Services’ toll-free hotline for reporting abuse. These notices do not appear in the school.

Conflicting policies and no training on reporting abuse

Fauquier County has 3 contradictory policies for reporting suspected child neglect or abuse. The policy 5-4.4 (B), instructs the school staff to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to the principal, immediate supervisor, who then reports to the Superintendent, Department of Social Services and school resource officer. The principal must also submit a report in writing to the superintendent, which will then be forwarded to social services. If the accused is an employer, the employee will be placed on administrative leaves until the investigation has been completed. In the policy, it is also stated that “the Director of Student Services shall conduct an independent inquiry into allegations of child abuse/neglect made by School Board employees while performing their official duties.”

According to the whistleblower, Restoration News, the accused did not receive a leave of absence when the allegations were made in September. It appears that the accused is still in the classroom.

The policy 7-5.5 contains different directions on how to report abuse or neglect of children. It instructs employees to notify the DSS , or to the person in charge at the school or department if they suspect abuse.

This regulation also requires the principal to inform the employee who initially reported the abuse of the DSS contact who has been notified, and to forward any communication resulting from that report.

This information was never given to the whistleblower.

State law mandates that school divisions adopt an interagency contract with DSS to investigate reports of child abuse or neglect. Restoration News has obtained a copy. Here’s what FCPS and DSS ought to do:

• FCPS will inform its employees about the requirements for child abuse and child neglect and local procedures to report suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect. This has not been done.
• Contact persons will report suspected abuse or neglect of children to the Fauquier Department of Social Services or the State Hotline immediately upon receiving reports from school staff. This is not evidence that this happened.
• If the initial complaint was made by an employee of a school, the Department of Social Services will send a letter to that person informing them that the investigation is complete and that either the disposition has been “unfounded” (or that “appropriate actions have been taken”) or “appropriate measures have been taken.” The investigation was never opened.

The Virginia Department of Social Services leadership should investigate these incidents. The school board must also investigate whether the DSS was properly notified. The voters must hold the school board accountable if they were made aware of the incident and did not take action. Children are at risk of harm.