18-year-old found guilty of groping several Fairfax Co. high school classmates
An 18-year-old Fairfax County High School student has been found guilty of groping several of his female schoolmates.
Initially charged with 13 crimes, Israel Flores Ortiz was found guilty of nine counts of misdemeanor assault and battery, acquitted of three charges, and one case was dismissed Thursday.
The girls who were touched inappropriately told their stories to the judge in Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Prosecutors played surveillance video of the incidents. Flores Ortiz’s attorney argued the crimes alleged weren’t visible, and that crowded hallways led to accidental touching.
However, prosecutors said Flores Ortiz had a pattern of intentional behavior that stretched over several days.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 21 — the maximum penalty for each count is six months in jail. Flores Ortiz remains in custody.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in social media posts, has said Flores Ortiz has been in the country illegally from El Salvador since 2024, and that if he is released, “ICE stands ready to take him into custody and deport” him.
Last month, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid announced the school system had hired a law firm “to establish a clear understanding of what occurred, when it occurred, and confirm that all policies, procedures, and regulations were properly followed.”