NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Court TV) — A judge dismissed charges against a former assistant principal after finding the prosecution failed to prove its case at trial.
Ebony Parker speaks with her attorney during her trial on May 20, 2026. (Peter Casey/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool)
Ebony Parker faced eight counts of felony child abuse after a first-grade student shot his teacher on Jan. 6, 2023. Prosecutors spent two days presenting evidence to the jury that Parker failed to intervene despite multiple warnings that the child, J.T., had a gun in school that day. “This case is about the 19 children whose lives were endangered in that moment, but the moments before as well,” Prosecutor Josh Jenkins said in his opening statement on Tuesday.
Teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot once, with the bullet traveling through her hand and into her chest. Seven other bullets were found in the weapon when officers retrieved it.
While prosecutors pointed to a series of escalating incidents with J.T. in the days leading up to the shooting, Parker’s defense maintained that she was at no more fault for the shooting than Zwerner herself. “[Parker] had limited information, and she responded to the information that she had,” Parker’s attorney, Curtis Rogers, said Thursday. “Based on the information she had, she took actions that she believed were appropriate based on the circumstances.”
“There is no precedent for what’s before the court, for an administrator criminally charged and tried for what has been presented,” Judge Rebecca Robinson noted on Thursday. “The Court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime, not under the Common Law of Virginia nor under the Code of Virginia.”
Ebony Parker cries in court after the charges against her were dismissed. (Court TV)
“The Court finds that what has been presented to it is a mashup of legal theory,” Robinson said as she dismissed all eight charges against Parker. Robinson also noted that while prosecutors had previously said that they specifically charged Parker with eight counts because of the eight bullets in the gun, those charges run contrary to case law, which requires the bullets to be discharged.
As the judge issued her ruling, Parker began to sob audibly and put her head down on the counsel table at her seat.
Addressing the media, Robinson said, “There will be no further comment from this Court, except to commend the attorneys on both sides…for zealously advocating their respective positions and treating this forum with the utmost decorum.”
The jurors were dismissed when they reported to the court later that morning.
