An 18-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador reportedly groped teenage girls at Fairfax High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, for weeks before school officials did anything about it, according to victims and parents.
Local authorities recently arrested and charged Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz with nine counts of assault and battery for allegedly groping and inappropriately touching classmates during the passing periods at the school.
Flores-Ortiz is accused of repeatedly creeping up behind the girls in crowded hallways and grabbing them between the legs and other private areas.
On Friday, Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith denied Ortiz’s request to be released from jail, even after Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office agreed to Ortiz’s bail request. The judge said the proposed bail request didn’t properly protect the public, according to 7News.
Even more concerning, Fairfax County Public Schools allows adult illegal immigrants to enroll in school without documentation about their age, identity or background. The district policy is they can attend until they are 22 years old.
“It’s a symptom of a much larger problem,” Stephanie Lundquist-Arora of the Independent Women’s Network and a parent with three children in the district told Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday night. “We are letting criminals into our schools with our children and as taxpayers we pay for it.”
Schools ABANDONING safeguards for young girls.
Stephanie Lundquist: “After alleged sexual violence, it took two weeks to alert parents — and the school said the student could return to class.” pic.twitter.com/NIUxGjuWFw
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 17, 2026
7News Reporter Nick Minock was the first to break the story and spoke exclusively with the victims’ parents.
Flores-Ortiz is almost 19 years old, and he is in the 11th grade at Fairfax High School.
About a dozen girls have shared details of the alleged sexual assaults, reporting that Flores-Ortiz put his hands in between their legs, grabbed their private parts in the front, and moved his hands to their butts while in the school’s hallways.
“There’s a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” one mother told 7News. “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.”
Another mother who spoke to 7News called the school’s response “abysmal,” adding, “I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls.”
In court records, the offense dates are listed as Feb. 25, 2026, and Flores-Ortiz’s arrest date is listed as March 7.
Flores-Ortiz has reportedly been groping students for most of the school year without any consequences, Lundquist-Arora told host Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday night.
Lundquist-Arora also said parents were not notified about what happened for several weeks, and school officials allegedly tried to keep it under wraps until parents started pressuring the school for details.
“Every single safeguard meant to protect children in their schools has been completely abandoned by the school district and at every level,” Lundquist-Arora said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “It took the school two weeks to alert parents, and it was only after parents of the alleged victims put pressure on the school to let them know. And then the mothers were asking what happens after this person, Ortiz, is released from jail and the school told them that he would be allowed back to class. Now how is that keeping anyone safe and how is that justice?”
Lundquist-Arora also said that the district’s lenient enrollment policies for undocumented immigrants means sexual predators and gang members can use the schools as places to prey on vulnerable teens or recruit gang members.
“I think this entire horrifying situation is the direct consequence of policy with really dysfunctional priorities, and that’s to shield adult illegal immigrants at the expense of children’s safety, even in their public schools,” Lundquist-Arora said in an earlier interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials called out newly elected Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s decision to end cooperation with ICE in Virginia and “siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”
🚨Fairfax County, Virginia: 19-year-old Illegal Alien ADULT attended local high school and GROPED multiple high school girls.
Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration, was arrested for NINE…— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 16, 2026
DHS requested Fairfax County, Virginia, sanctuary officials not to release Flores-Ortiz from jail.
“This is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies,” said DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women.”
Fairfax High School Principal Georgina Aye sent an email to parents on March 12, after Flores-Ortiz was arrested that reads in part, “We are writing to share the news of the recent arrest of a student who was charged with inappropriately touching other students at school. These incidents involved the student touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”
7News reported that FCPS’ description of what happened has caused the girls who reported it to experience harassment and bullying from peers at school, according to one mother.
In court on Friday, prosecutor Jenna Sands said Ortiz groped girls at school throughout the school year. FCPS reportedly didn’t take action to stop Ortiz’s alleged behavior months ago.
Fairfax County Public Schools issued the following statement to Fox News Digital and other outlets:
“While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners who continue to work swiftly and thoroughly when there are safety concerns in our schools. The safety of all FCPS students and staff remains a top priority.”
Fairfax County has been in the news for its sanctuary policies that allow repeat offenders and illegal immigrants to be released.
Sierra Leone national Abdul Jalloh, 32, was arrested in February for allegedly stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a bus stop. He had more than 30 prior arrests and was released the day before the murder without alerting ICE.
DHS officials said Spanberger’s decision to end cooperation with ICE in Virginia has allowed criminals to be released back into American communities.
“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers need to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” DHS said in a statement. “While Governor Spanberger continues to allow the release of pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and murderers onto Virginia’s streets, DHS law enforcement will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals.”
