Virginia parents are up in arms that it took months of girls being groped at Fairfax High School before charges were filed against an adult illegal immigrant enrolled at the school.
Israel Flores Ortiz, 18, was charged this month with nine counts of assault and battery, according to WJLA-TV. Ortiz is an 11th grader at the school.
Ortiz entered the U.S. illegally in 2024 from El Salvador but was released under Biden-era immigration policies.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer for Ortiz, but Fairfax County is not honoring it.
BREAKING: An illegal alien from El Salvador has been arrested in Fairfax County, VA on nine counts of assault and battery for groping girls in the hallway of the high school.
Israel Flores Ortiz crossed the border in 2024, was released into the country by the Biden admin, and is… pic.twitter.com/hCnTYIt7B3
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 13, 2026
“Unfortunately, sanctuary politicians like Gov. (Abigail) Spanberger are outlawing cooperation with ICE and choosing to release criminal illegal aliens from their jails back into their communities to create more American victims,” an ICE representative said.
“We are calling on Fairfax County to honor our detainer to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again.”
During a hearing Friday, prosecutor Jenna Sands said the groping took place throughout the school year.
WJLA spoke to multiple parents whose names were not published.
“I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls,” one parent said.
“They have attempted to sweep it under the rug,” another mother remarked.
The mothers said that although the school told parents the charges involved girls being touched on the buttocks, parents said the groping was worse than that.
“There’s a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” one mother said. “It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls. He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months.”
On Friday, Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith rejected a bail request to spring Ortiz from jail, even though it was blessed by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office. The judge said the public was not sufficiently protected.
Parents have said they were angry that the school plans to allow Ortiz back if he is freed on bail.
They were also irked that the charges are for assault, not sexual assault.
“That’s very frustrating, very frustrating, because I feel like this seems like a crime of someone that will escalate if they are not, if it’s not handled properly, and that’s been my concern,” one mother said.
“We were all very frustrated to hear that it was just simple assault and level one misdemeanor, basically a fine.”
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