White Oaks Elementary Cover-Up — Fairfax County (2023–2024)
From September 2023 through April 2024, special education teacher Elizabeth Yoshimi Nagagata, 62, assaulted three students at White Oaks Elementary School in Burke. Assistant Principal Dana Chen, 42, received complaints but never reported them to police or Child Protective Services as required by Virginia law. Nagagata was charged with seven counts of simple assault. Chen was charged with failure to report.
Key Facts
Timeline of Events
Every date and fact below is cited to its source. Click the bracketed links to verify.
Special education teacher begins assaulting students
Special education teacher Elizabeth Yoshimi Nagagata, 62, began assaulting students at White Oaks Elementary School in Burke.
Assaults continue for seven months; assistant principal receives complaints
Nagagata assaulted three students on separate occasions over approximately seven months. Assistant Principal Dana Chen, 42, received complaints about Nagagata during this period.
Chen failed to report the allegations to police or Child Protective Services as required by Virginia law. The assaults continued.
Teacher arrested and charged with seven counts of assault
Nagagata was arrested and charged with seven counts of simple assault. She was held without bond.
Assistant principal charged with failing to report
Dana Chen was charged with one count of failing to report as required by Virginia law. She was served a summons.
What Went Wrong
Seven Months of Assaults
A special education teacher assaulted vulnerable students for seven months while complaints were ignored.
Mandatory Reporting Violated
The assistant principal received complaints but never reported to police or CPS, violating Virginia law.
Vulnerable Students Targeted
The victims were special education students — among the most vulnerable children in the school.
Systemic Pattern
This is the second FCPS case of a principal failing to report child abuse (see also Thoreau Middle School, Freedom Hill Elementary).
Who Is Responsible
All Sources
Every fact on this page is sourced from the following reporting. We encourage you to read the original articles and verify every claim.
Special ed students were assaulted for seven months. The assistant principal knew and did nothing.
Vulnerable students were assaulted repeatedly while a school administrator violated her legal duty to report. This is not an isolated failure — it is a pattern in FCPS.
Related Incidents
Rachel Carson Middle School Gang Rape Cover-Up
A 12-year-old girl alleged she was gang raped over five months. Staff told her to 'be a big girl.' Five staffers involved still worked at FCPS a decade later. Federal OCR reprimanded the superintendent.
Oakton HS Band Trip: Officials Joked, Evidence Lost, FCPS Settled for $587,500
A 16-year-old was sexually assaulted on a five-day band trip. A School Resource Officer joked about it. Witness statements were lost. FCPS quietly settled for $587,500.
Superintendent Closes Investigation Into Boy in Girls' Locker Room
A 14-year-old girl found a male student with facial hair watching girls undress. Superintendent Michelle Reid closed the investigation. Girls were told to use a different bathroom. A federal Title IX complaint was filed.