The 15-year-old Loudoun County, Virginia, boy who has been found responsible for two in-school sexual assaults against two female students will undergo more psychological testing before a juvenile court judge decides his future.
The teenager was found responsible for a May 28 incident at Stone Bridge High School, in Ashburn, for one felony count of forcible sodomy and one felony count of forcible fellatio, by Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Chief Judge Pamela Brooks.
In the Oct. 6 assault at Broad Run High School, Brooks found the teen responsible for abduction, which is a felony, and sexual battery, which is a misdemeanor.
Brooks was expected to announce the disposition for both cases Monday morning. A disposition is the juvenile equivalent of an adult sentence, although juvenile dispositions focus on rehabilitation, rather than punishment.
On Monday, Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj requested a delay “so we can establish the appropriate residential placement” for the teen, in light of a request for additional psychological testing by the county’s juvenile court services unit. Defense attorney William Mann agreed the delay would be appropriate.
Initial psychosexual testing has been completed, Biberaj told Brooks.
Jason Bickmore, with the juvenile services unit, asked for additional psychological testing, before making a recommendation of the treatment facility best suited for the teen. Brooks ordered the additional testing Monday, which will be done by Loudoun County’s Department of Mental Health.
Once Bickmore receives the additional report, he will produce a social history and make recommendations as to what placement options are available, which will be forwarded to prosecutors and the defense.
In a future hearing, prosecutors and the defense will make their own recommendations for an appropriate disposition, with the judge making the final determination.
Judges in juvenile cases have wide latitude in considering treatment plans. Biberaj and Mann have not said what disposition they will seek, saying the additional testing will help guide their recommendations.
The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12, although Bickmore and the judge acknowledged it might be difficult to complete the testing and offer a recommendation by then.
The teenager is being held in the county juvenile detention facility.
