FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - A nearly 19-year-old illegal alien enrolled at a Virginia high school as a junior was arrested earlier in March after allegedly groping numerous female students’ private areas throughout the school. While the criminal justice system addresses the matter, parents of the victims are reportedly furious with the school for downplaying the alleged assaults.
On March 13, Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith denied bail for 18-year-old Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal alien enrolled as a junior at Fairfax High School who has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery regarding alleged acts of groping on unsuspecting high school girls. The judge in the case ruled that the bail amount sought, which had apparently been approved by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office, didn’t properly address the public safety issues presented by the defendant.
According to one of the victim’s parents, who spoke to a local ABC News affiliate, Ortiz’s alleged criminal conduct was perpetrated against approximately a dozen young girls at the high school over a period of “several months.”
“There's a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” the woman stated, adding, “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.”
Parents of some of the other victims are reportedly enraged over how the high school addressed the matter, with the school reportedly sending a letter to students’ parents that downplayed the assaults as incidents where Ortiz was simply “touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”
One of the victim’s parents addressed the manner in which the school described the alleged incidents, saying, “Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping. I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn't be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter's legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched.”
In the wake of Ortiz’s arrest, parents of the victims are claiming their daughters are now being harassed at school by their peers, largely due to how the school has downplayed the seriousness of the matter.
“The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention-seeking,” one of the parents said while speaking with the ABC News affiliate.
All the more concerning to the victims and their parents is that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) reportedly informed them that if Ortiz is released from custody, he’ll be allowed to return to the school.
When FCPS was reached for comment on Ortiz’s possibility of returning to school upon his release as well as why they didn’t act sooner regarding the suspect’s alleged criminal conduct that was carried out for months, FCPS claimed they are “unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws” while adding that they “prioritize student and staff safety.”
On March 13, Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith denied bail for 18-year-old Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal alien enrolled as a junior at Fairfax High School who has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery regarding alleged acts of groping on unsuspecting high school girls. The judge in the case ruled that the bail amount sought, which had apparently been approved by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office, didn’t properly address the public safety issues presented by the defendant.
According to one of the victim’s parents, who spoke to a local ABC News affiliate, Ortiz’s alleged criminal conduct was perpetrated against approximately a dozen young girls at the high school over a period of “several months.”
“There's a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault,” the woman stated, adding, “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.”
Parents of some of the other victims are reportedly enraged over how the high school addressed the matter, with the school reportedly sending a letter to students’ parents that downplayed the assaults as incidents where Ortiz was simply “touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways.”
One of the victim’s parents addressed the manner in which the school described the alleged incidents, saying, “Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping. I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn't be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter's legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched.”
In the wake of Ortiz’s arrest, parents of the victims are claiming their daughters are now being harassed at school by their peers, largely due to how the school has downplayed the seriousness of the matter.
“The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention-seeking,” one of the parents said while speaking with the ABC News affiliate.
All the more concerning to the victims and their parents is that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) reportedly informed them that if Ortiz is released from custody, he’ll be allowed to return to the school.
When FCPS was reached for comment on Ortiz’s possibility of returning to school upon his release as well as why they didn’t act sooner regarding the suspect’s alleged criminal conduct that was carried out for months, FCPS claimed they are “unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws” while adding that they “prioritize student and staff safety.”
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