A Virginia judge on Thursday dismissed all eight felony child neglect charges against former Richneck Elementary assistant principal Ebony Parker who was facing prosecution in connection with a 2023 incident in which a six-year-old student shot a teacher.
Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Robinson threw out the charges with prejudice after the prosecutors presented their case, according to NBC News. They alleged that Parker ignored warnings that the boy had a firearm on campus before the shooting.
The ruling came during the trial, not after a verdict or plea deal, which means it was a major defeat for prosecutors.
Robinson sided with the defense after deciding the prosecution failed to show that Parker engaged in conduct that constitutes a crime under Virginia law, CNN reported. “There is no precedent for what’s before the court, for an administrator criminally charged and tried for what has been presented,” the judge said.
Judge dismisses all child neglect counts against Newport News assistant principal EBONY PARKER https://t.co/NrFeaFqjNQ
— DAILY POST 🇬🇧 (@dailypost_uk) May 22, 2026
The judge further argued that “what has been presented to it is a mashup of legal theory” and that “this is not a crime, not under the common law of Virginia, nor under the code of Virginia, and the court is going to explain its rationale and ruling.”
Robinson also rejected the prosecution’s effort to apply one felony count for each bullet in the gun the boy carried.
BREAKING: A judge has dismissed felony child neglect charges against former Virginia assistant principal Ebony Parker in the aftermath of the 2023 Richneck Elementary school shooting involving a 6-year-old student.
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) May 21, 2026
Prosecutors had accused Parker of failing to act on warnings… pic.twitter.com/s11veOH5Gf
Parker’s lawyers celebrated the ruling, with one saying “Her actions in no way indicated that she believed there was a firearm in the possession” of the child.
A Newport News grand jury charged Parker in 2024 with eight counts of child neglect after deciding her failure to stop the boy showed reckless disregard for student safety. Prosecutors pointed out that staff members warned Parker that the boy might have a gun. However, she did not remove him from class or search him before the shooting. A grand jury report said Parker declined to allow others to search the boy as well.