A former Northern Virginia choir director has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery against a former 17-year-old student, and has received a 12-month suspended sentence.
Joel Adam Shapiro, 33, was sentenced Sept. 4 in Loudoun County Circuit Court after entering a plea to the misdemeanor. He was initially charged in 2024 with taking indecent liberties with a child while a custodian, which is a felony.
Prosecutors said Shapiro worked from 2014 to 2017 for Clarke County Public Schools, and had sex several times with the student in his Leesburg home in 2017. He later worked as a choir director in Prince William County Schools from 2017 to 2024, which is when he resigned.
According to a Virginia State Police investigator, the young woman contacted authorities in 2023 and provided pictures, text messages and handwritten notes from Shapiro.
After the plea, Loudoun County prosecutors sought a one-year sentence for Shapiro, the maximum sentence for the Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the Loudoun Times Mirror.
However, visiting Judge Robert J. Smith imposed a 12-month suspended sentence, and ordered Shapiro to provide a DNA sample and register as a sex offender.
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